Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Perth, a partner in the proposed Kitimat LNG project on the coast of British Columbia in Canada, will record a $720 million after-tax writedown on its investments in western Canada.
The charge against its 2019 earnings reflects uncertainty in the timing of when it will be able to develop its Liard natural gas fields in northern British Columbia to supply the planned LNG export terminal, the company said.
The proposal is to process and ship up to 2.3 bcfd of gas.
Woodside added that Kitimat remains a world-class project and the company will continue to actively evaluate future development opportunities. These include the optimization of gas supply into the processing facilities.
Timing of the development of Liard upstream resource has been affected by sustained depressed gas market conditions in western Canada.
In December, the Kitimat operator Chevron Corp. said it is trying to sell its 50% stake in Kitimat LNG.