KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), which failed to get British Columbia (BC) aboriginal group Lax Kw’alaams to accept its C$1.15bil (RM3.42bil) cash offer, now may face legal action from the group.
According to a Bloomberg report late on Tuesday, the group that claims title to land earmarked for the Petronas-led Pacific NorthWest’s C$11bil (RM32.7bil) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal said it would take legal action if its environmental concerns weren’t addressed.
At this time, the project is still awaiting environmental approval from the federal environmental authority (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency), although the BC provincial government has given it an environmental certificate.
Petronas and its joint-venture partners had recently said they would go ahead with the massive LNG project despite the Lax Kw’alaams’ rejection of the benefits offer package. However, this decision is conditional on the approval of the BC legislative assembly and the Canadian government’s positive regulatory decision on Pacific NorthWest’s environmental assessment.
The Lax Kw’alaams and environmentalists have raised concerns that the LNG project might endanger the salmon habitat.
Bloomberg quoted Tom Isaac, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Calgary who leads the firm’s aboriginal law group and has no stake in the project, as saying: “One of the key risks is potential for delay. If litigation were initiated, that could take some time to wind its way through the courts.”
