July 11 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc and itsLNG Canada partners have once again pushed back the timing of adecision on building a British Columbia liquefied natural gasexport (LNG) terminal, the latest setback for the Canadianprovince's energy ambitions.
LNG Canada, whose participants also include PetroChina CoLtd, Mitsubishi Corporation and Kogas,cited global industry challenges, including capital constraints,for requiring more time prior to making a final investmentdecision.
The proposed project, which would be located on BritishColumbia's rugged northern coastline, was one of the frontrunners in a now slowing race to build Canada's first LNG exportterminal.
The venture had originally planned to make its finalinvestment decision in the first half of 2016. In February itpushed the deadline to the end of the year.
In its statement on Monday, the group said they could notconfirm when the decision would be made. (http://bit.ly/29EfvKl)
Last month, Canada's environmental regulator said it resumedits review of a separate Petronas-led LNG project. The agencyhas three months to complete its review of that proposal, andCanada's ruling Liberals have separately committed to announcingtheir final decision by the end of September
LNG prices are sinking as demand for the super-chilled gasslows and new supply from the United States, Australia andRussia is set to hit the market through 2021.
Despite the near-term glut, Shell executives have said theyanticipate demand from China and other countries to increasethrough the next decade. (Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing byJeffrey Hodgson)