(Adds details)
TOKYO, May 10 (Reuters) - Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu
Kosan Co 5019.T said on Tuesday its joint venture with
Canada's AltaGas ALA.TO would suspend a liquefied natural gas
(LNG) project in Canada for the foreseeable future due to low
energy prices.
The two firms had conducted a feasibility study to export
about 2 million tonnes per year of LNG to Asia from Canada's
west coast as early as 2017.
If the current LNG prices continue into the future, the
venture would not be able to make a commitment on development,
Toshiaki Sagishima, executive officer and general manager of
Idemitsu Kosan's treasury department, told reporters during a
briefing on the company's full-year earnings.
But Idemitsu left open a possibility of continuing with the
project when energy prices recovered.
A consortium of companies including AltaGas and Idemitsu in
February had also halted further development of the separate
Douglas Channel LNG project on British Columbia's Pacific coast
in Canada citing unfavourable market conditions.
Idemitsu said it would lower its strategic investments
during the business year that started on April 1 by about a
third from a year earlier to 61 billion yen ($560 million) amid
lower oil prices.
($1 = 108.8900 yen)
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FACTBOX-Proposed LNG export terminals in Canada
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