April 27 (Reuters) - A proposed C$40 billion ($31.1 billion) liquefied natural gas export terminal on British Columbia's coast edged closer to reality on Friday, as the company behind the project said it had chosen a contractor to lead project construction once financing is in place.
A JGC Corp 1963.T and Fluor Corp (NYSE:FLR) FLR.N joint venture has been selected to do the final engineering, procurement and construction for the LNG Canada terminal, with a final investment decision on the build still expected later this year, LNG Canada said.
LNG Canada is led by Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L along with its partners Petro China Co Ltd 601857.SS , Korea Gas Corp 036460.KS and Mitsubishi Corp 8058.T .
The project, a massive four-train plant that would produce up to 26 million tonnes of LNG per year, is located in a remote corner of northwest British Columbia. The build would include the liquefaction plant, export terminal and a 670 kilometer (416 mile) natural gas pipeline.
It is considered essential for Canadian gas producers, who have access to some of the richest gas fields in the world in Northern Alberta and British Columbia, but face depressed prices due to a glut of gas in North America.
($1 = 1.2868 Canadian dollars)