HOUSTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp isseeking a license to export 30 million tonnes of liquefiednatural gas (LNG) per year to Asian markets from the coast ofBritish Columbia, according to a regulatory filing in Canada.
Exxon and other U.S. energy companies are looking to exportsof higher-margin LNG as a means of profiting from NorthAmerica's vast supplies of shale gas.
Exxon and its majority-owned Imperial Oil Ltd, propose developing a liquefaction terminal that would require upto six separate processing units as well as storage and loadingfacilities that would be sited around Kitimat and Prince Rupert,according to the application filed with the National EnergyBoard on Wednesday.
The project is one of several LNG export plants proposed forBritish Columbia's Pacific Coast, including facilities plannedby Chevron Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc andMalaysia Petronas
Natural gas for the project would primarily come fromCanadian fields where Exxon and Imperial hold acreage, but otherNorth American shale basins could also be a source of supply,the companies said.
The companies' export license application is a preliminarystep in the process and does not imply a commitment to build afacility, said a spokesman for Imperial.
First exports are targeted for 2021 to 2023, according tothe filing.
Exxon has LNG projects in operation or in development inPapua New Guinea, Qatar and Australia and on the U.S. GulfCoast.
