The LNG sector will have at least one final investment decision by a private company in 2014, predicts the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC).
The council said several LNG proponents are looking to push major projects forward in the province.
“The evolving global marketplace and stiff competition for expanding markets from a large number of other LNG supplier countries complicate the decision-making process for these multi-billion dollar investments,” the BCBC said in a report.
“A number of factors, however, do put B.C. in the game, including a world-class upstream resource with a development track record, a stable political and economic environment, geographic proximity to markets and broad stakeholder support for the projects.”
LNG is number one in a BCBC list of the top 10 economic issues facing the province over the next year.
The council also weighed in on whether or not the economy in the United States is strengthening. It said the U.S. economy did better than anticipated in the second half of 2013, and that some forecasters believe the U.S. GDP will increase by 3% in 2014. The BCBC said “a more solidly based economic upswing” in the States will boost B.C.’s exports and economy, with tourism, lumber and advanced technologies seeing improvements.
Other BCBC predictions include:
- a decreasing Canadian dollar will boost exports, with the Loonie settling around the 90-cent mark in the near term;
- B.C. will balance its operating budget in 2013/14;
- home sales will increase by 5% in 2014, but will still remain below the 10-year average;
- the province’s job market will see a moderate recovery in the second half of 2014;
- B.C.’s government will work more extensively with First Nations, giving them a stronger role in the province’s economy;
- B.C. will continue to see people leaving the province to seek more promising employment opportunities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario;
- consumer price inflation will remain below 2%; and
- the province’s economy will grow at about 2.4% next year, after increasing 1.5% in 2013.
More details and the full report can be found here.
