Malaysian national oil company Petronas says it expects to spend up to $16 billion to build a liquefied natural gas export facility and related infrastructure in Western Canada.

Arif Mahmood, Petronas vice-president of corporate planning, says the company will invest between $9 billion and $11 billion to construct two LNG liquefaction plants near British Colombia's west coast.

Another $5 billion will be invested in a 750 kilometre-long pipeline, to be built by TransCanada Corp., to supply gas to the two plants, he said Tuesday in an email to The Associated Press.

The Pacific Northwest LNG project, located on Lelu Island in the Port Edward district, will liquefy and export natural gas produced in northeastern British Columbia by Progress Energy Canada.

Petronas bought Calgary-based Progress last year in a $6-billion friendly deal. The two companies had been previously working together on the same projects.

In January, Calgary-based TransCanada said it would design, build, own and operate the proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project for Progress Energy.

Petronas secured its first LNG buyer, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., in March.

Japex has agreed to take a 10 per cent stake in both Petronas' properties in B.C.'s Montney formation as well as a the Lelu Island LNG plant near Prince Rupert, B.C.

The gas will be chilled into a liquid state so that it can be transported across the Pacific by tanker.

-- with files from The Canadian Press.

This is a report by the Associated Press, made available though the Canadian Press. For more from CP, click here or scroll down The Tyee's main page.