Natural Resources

Can Petronas be trusted with our LNG?

By Felicity Stone /

Premier Christy Clark tours the Petronas LNG complex in Malaysia
Premier Christy Clark tours the Petronas LNG complex in Malaysia

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Plus, fly WestJet to London and drink from a thing that drives 

Problems in the pipeline
Reaction—little of it good—continues to an internal audit by Petronas indicating problems with its maintenance and safety systems obtained by the Vancouver Sun last week. Deputy Premier Rich Coleman said that the Malaysian state-owned oil and gas producer hadn’t told him about its problems with “severe” corrosion and incompetent personnel, but the pipeline and LNG terminal project in northern B.C. proposed by Petronas-led consortium Pacific NorthWest LNG will “meet the highest standards in the world.” Among those shocked and appalled by the disclosure: federal NDP finance critic Nathan Cullen (who supports the LNG sector but urges Pacific NorthWest LNG to move their proposed location to an area with a less-sensitive salmon habitat), who said Petronas’s problems underscore the need for a better federal environmental review process; and the mayor of the Lax Kw’alaams Band (which is fighting the project), who is understandably concerned. The Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal is still being reviewed by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

Flying high
On Tuesday WestJet is announcing a new non-stop route from Vancouver to London, England. Beginning May 2016, the Calgary-based airline is adding service to Gatwick airport from Calgary, Edmonton, St. John’s (Newfoundland), Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Reservations on the Boeing 767-300ER (737-700 from St. John’s) open following the announcement.

Booze on wheels
With changes to B.C.’s liquor laws now allowing alcohol to be served at festivals and farmers’ markets, a Surrey company that makes food trucks and wagons has jumped on the, ahem, bandwagon. Apollo Custom Manufacturing has several food trucks fitted to serve wine and/or beer on the go: a truck for Mission Springs Brewing Company fitted with an Italian wood-fired pizza plus wine and beer on tap, plus a fire truck being converted to serve burgers, hot dogs and beer. The company, which has, for example, converted a shipping container into a kitchen for Black Hills Estate Winery in Oliver, is also outfitting an Airstream trailer dropped on a truck chassis for a chef who wants to do catering for wineries and high-end establishments in the Okanagan. (via Surrey Now)