Saturday, February 01, 2020

Chevron Takes 2 Billion Dollar Hit on Kitimat LNG



It's actually $2.12 billion CDN, $1.6 billion USD. That's the write-off Chevron is taking on its Kitimat LNG investment, an interest the company is still trying to sell.

Chevron chief executive Michael Wirth said the company made the “hard decision” to divest Kitimat LNG.

“Our assessment on the Kitimat project is, given all the other developments out there in the world, that one was going to be tough to compete versus our alternatives,” Mr. Wirth said during a conference call with industry analysts on Friday. “As an investment proposition, we just want to find the very best projects.”

Mr. Wirth noted that one of the challenges in Canada is the long distances to transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the West Coast. 
Pacific Trail Pipeline proposes to follow a 480-kilometre route from Summit Lake near Prince George in the B.C. Interior to Kitimat LNG’s terminal site at Bish Cove. The idea is to connect with a planned 260-kilometre pipeline from northeastern B.C. to Prince George. “Canadian gas – that is quite a ways away from the Kitimat site,” Mr. Wirth said.

6 comments:

Toby said...

“Canadian gas – that is quite a ways away from the Kitimat site,” Mr. Wirth said.

Chevron had to spend $2.12 billion CDN in order to discover that? Don't people look at maps anymore?

Geography can be everything. BC's mountains parallel it's coast, essentially north northwest -> south southeast. Building railways, highways, powerlines, pipes is easy following the valleys; think Alaska to Washington. However, crossing the mountains can be a job from hell. There's a good explanation in McCullough's Wonder, a book about the building of the Kettle Valley Railway through Coquihalla Pass.

Sorry, Mound, I know your post is about Chevron facing reality rather late in the day but I despair about the arrogance of corporate management starting this project. Did they expect the Ohio valley?

Anonymous said...

For a mere 5% commission, I'd be happy to hook them up with a buyer willing to pay over asking "in the national interest."

Cap

The Disaffected Lib said...


Toby, you are well on point there. And those pipelines, gas or bitumen, have to be maintained across the difficult and often remote routes. That means it can be tough to quickly notice when something goes wrong, tough to get repair crews to the site and worse to get crews and materials in and out for the clean up (if they even bother). Look how Enbridge kept trying to shuck and jive its way out of the Kalamazoo River dilbit spill and that was right out in the open in a populated area.

The Disaffected Lib said...


Cap, yes, another zinger. Well played.

Trailblazer said...

Chevron Takes 2 Billion Dollar Hit on Kitimat LNG

A trend perhaps?

https://www.ft.com/content/32a8cf92-7cf5-11e5-98fb-5a6d4728f74e

Yet these companies remain quite profitable!
Whilst those expecting royalties do not..


TB

the salamander said...

.. I'll have to brush up re the Chevron action plan.. that led to a 2 Billion $ Hit thanks..
It gets hard to follow or track all the inside deals that cross Justin Trudeau's and Stuart Butts' respective desks.. or those of their elected or unelected subalterns paid to meet with the daily quotas of lobbyists and corporate foreign dignitaries

Pray tell.. how did Chevron miss the choice deal of the century that Justin scooped from under Chevron's very noses ! Thanks to Justin's precience.. WE THE Canadians (The North) are the proud loud owners of The Trans Mountain Pipeline and all its infrastucture and rights and liabilities.. and not Chevron or some dubious foreign owned Super Conglomerate or Numbered Financial Instrument al la madame Kenney's Secret Squirrel War Room House Of Ill Albertan Repute..

My understanding is that the Trans Mountain Pipe Co.. must report its Quarterly Report.. (that's what reports are to do) and one assumes as the de facto Presidente of the Nation Building Enterprise, It falls to Justin Trudeau or his proxy to ensure We the actual shareholders along with Jason the Kenney and John of Horgan and the AWOL Leader of the Officious Opposition get a sneak peek at the wondrous wealth beating a path into the uh.. uh.. General Finances of The Country known as Canada.. Yippee yi yay kiyay !!

As the greenhouse gas emissions surge from expanded extraction of Our erotic or ethical or.. 'oil' for export to Cathay.. I can already feel the promised reduction.. or redaction.. re the 'lowering of greenhouse gases' .. begone foul methane, you too CO2.. no radon, no radioactivity via 'in situ' flushing of the tar sands Bitumen shalt besmirch our air, waters, land, species, habitat.. quoth the raven never ever ..