(Correct name of project to LNG Canada in headline and story)
CALGARY, Alberta, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the lead partner in the consortium planning the LNGCanada project on British Columbia's northern coast, said onFriday it has filed for an environmental assessment certificatewith provincial regulators, a key step in gaining approval tobuild the liquefied natural-gas facility.
The company said in a release that the filing to BritishColumbia's Environmental Assessment Office begins a 180-dayreview of the project's socio-economic and environmentalimpacts.
Shell has a 50 percent stake in the project, which willinitially produce some 12 million tonnes of LNG per year for theAsian market and could be expanded to 24 million tonnes.PetroChina has a 20 percent share while Korea GasCorp and Mitsubishi Corp each hold 15percent. (Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)