Petronas will forward complaint on LNG project to Canada partner

 

Petronas has said that it works with all parties, including indigenous communities, to ensure that its operations worldwide are safe following reports that a Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project it is involved in has caused environmental and social harm.

The national oil and gas giant added that it will forward the submitted report to LNG Canada which manages a project in British Columbia to export LNG via the 670km Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline.

"Petronas participates in LNG Canada through its subsidiary, Petronas Canada LNG Ltd (PCLL), as one of five joint venture partners, with all project-related matters - including stakeholder engagement and community relations - managed through the project company, LNG Canada,” the firm said in a statement.

“Petronas will channel the submitted report to LNG Canada for their review and analysis.

“Petronas continues to work collaboratively with all parties - including indigenous communities - in ensuring safe operations across our own Petronas Canada and PCLL portfolio,” it added.

On Dec 8, Malaysiakini reported that two indigenous leaders from British Columbia had travelled to Petronas headquarters at the Twin Towers in the city centre to deliver a report of the harms caused by the CGL pipeline.

The tribal leaders told Malaysiakini that Petronas is responsible for the harms “embedded in” its supply chain, as CGL exists only to supply LNG Canada’s terminal, locally known as the Kitimat LNG Canada export terminal.

The CGL pipeline has faced over 60 actions by the British Columbia environmental regulator for river sedimentation and fish-habitat damage, according to the complaint.

Damage was also done to a sacred site, Wedzin Kwa, which violates Wet’suwet’en cultural and subsistence rights, they said.

The indigenous leaders’ complaints also include the possibility of LNG tanker traffic in the Kitimat fjord increasing sevenfold - although this has not been independently assessed - potentially causing up to 18 humpback and two fin whale deaths each year.

No due diligence

According to an Amnesty International report, the CGL pipeline cuts through Wet’suwet’en territory, where over 5,000 members live in five clans and whose land rights are recognised under Canadian law.

The tribes allege that Petronas failed to conduct meaningful due diligence despite its own commitments to the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.

“Although CGL and LNG Canada publicly claim that indigenous consultations were conducted, consultation alone does not meet the legal threshold for consent.

“In this case, consultation consisted of information-sharing sessions and benefit agreements with elected Indian Act band councils whose authority is legally confined to reserve lands.

“These councils do not have jurisdiction over the broader traditional territories that are the subject of Wet’suwet’en aboriginal title, and the pipeline does not cross Indian reserve land,” the complaint explained.

The 2023 Amnesty International report on the project also documented land defenders’ arrests, police raids, and insufficient environmental assessment. - Mkini