Petronas says to announce 'conditional FID' on Canada LNG project in coming weeks

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said on Friday it will announce a "conditional" final investment decision on its proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal in Canada in the coming weeks. This comes after the company reached a deal with British Columbia related to project on Wednesday. "With this recent development, we are looking to achieve a conditional final investment decision in the coming weeks," President and Group Chief Executive Officer Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said at a press conference where the company announced its first-quarter earnings. "We will continue to have constructive engagements with the First Nation, and keep all avenues open as we move forward with our project," he added. At roughly $36 billion, the total investment by Petronas and its partners includes the construction of the Pacific NorthWest LNG export terminal near the northern city of Prince Rupert, a natural gas pipeline and ongoing gas development. The government deal comes a week after an aboriginal group rejected an offer of C$1 billion ($820.9 million) in return for supporting the export terminal, saying the development would harm a fish habitat next to the project site. (Reporting by Anuradha Raghu; Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)