Australia’s Woodside drops Grassy Point LNG plan in Canada

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum has dropped plans to build a liquefied natural gas export plant at Grassy Point on Canada’s west coast,choosing to focus on another Canadian LNG project, Kitimat, run by Chevron Corp .

Woodside’s rights to develop the Grassy Point LNG site,about 30 km north of Prince Rupert, expired on Jan. 15, and the company said on Wednesday it had decided not to renew the agreement.

“The decision was made after careful consideration of our long-term development strategy in Canada,” Woodside said in an emailed statement after the step was initially reported by Canada’s Globe and Mail.

“We are focusing on the Kitimat LNG project in which we area 50-percent partner with Chevron,” Woodside said.

The company had done little work on the Grassy Point project to export up to 20 million tonnes a year of LNG, and did not mention it in growth plans outlined last May.

The decision to scrap Grassy Point adds to a string of LNG projects that have been delayed or shelved in Canada due to a global LNG supply glut.

Woodside flagged last year that Kitimat, which has a 20-year, 10 million tonnes a year export licence, was part of its growth plans for beyond 2026.

Chevron is considering selling part of its stake in Kitimat,Reuters reported this week.