Few mentions of Northwest LNG options from Shell announcements today

The prospect of Shell Canada moving ahead at this time with the Prince Rupert LNG project on Ridley Island still seems much in the air, that after the international energy company delivered its annual Capital Market Day report, with few items directed towards the LNG scene for the Northwest.

The overview of where Shell is planning to invest and dedicate its resources towards for the year ahead indicated that the company plans to shift away from growing its liquefied natural gas business, something that won't be welcome news for the Provincial government, which had been hoping to find some of the many proposed developments for British Columbia moving forward.

Much of the information delivered from today's investment update focused on the synergies that were developing between Shell and the recently acquired assets of BG Gas, with the now much larger energy group looking to manage a down cycle, deliver on lower costs and seek more predictable spending while looking at asset sales and profitable new projects.

The key passage in the media announcement providing the talking points for the announcements of the day focus on the status of LNG investment and a plan to slow the pace of investment down.

Integrated gas, which was previously a growth priority for Shell, has reached critical mass following the BG acquisition and planned growth in liquefied natural gas (LNG), particularly in Australia. The pace of new investment will slow here, and integrated gas will now prioritise the generation of free cash flow and returns.

There was no mention of the proposed
Prince Rupert LNG project as part
of today's Capital market Day
announcements from Shell

Of interest to those in the Northwest looking for some signs of forward momentum on the LNG files, neither the LNG Canada project slated for Kitimat, or the Prince Rupert LNG proposal received any mention as part of today's presentation.

Shell had previously settled on the Kitimat development joining with a consortium of investors for a project that many suggested would be the first to the finish line in the Northwest, with the plans towards that goal moving forward until earlier this year.

That focus changed slightly in February, when Shell announced that they were postponing any final decision for their Kitimat plans until the end of the year.

The energy giant became the owner of the Prince Rupert LNG proposal when it completed its merger with BG gas last year. The proposed Ridley Island development has been on hold since October of 2014.

Shell made no mention of the status of the Prince Rupert project as part of today's Capital Market Day announcements.

You can review some of the highlights of today's update here.

You can review our archive items related to both projects below:

LNG Canada
Prince Rupert LNG