Warren Buffett’s investment company Berkshire Hathaway has decided not to invest $4 billion in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant by the Saguenay port, according to Radio-Canada, CBC News reported.
The marine terminal to ship LNG to overseas markets is slated to be built roughly 230 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, at a cost of $9.5 billion.
News broke Thursday morning in La Presse that Berkshire Hathaway was walking away from the project.
Stéphanie Fortin, head of communications for the company behind the project, GNL Québec, confirmed the company had lost a significant potential investor, but did not want to say who it is.
She did say, however, that the company lost the investor because of the “current Canadian political context.”
She said with “instability” in the last few weeks, such as ongoing rail blockades, foreign investors are getting nervous.
This won’t keep the project from progressing, Ms. Fortin said, nor will it mean job losses in the immediate future.
She said the loss of the Berkshire Hathaway investment won’t be without an impact, though.
The LNG project also involves the construction of a pipeline across a 782-kilometre stretch of the province – from northern Ontario to Saguenay – to transport natural gas from Western Canada.
The goal is to export 11 million tonnes of LNG per year
