The energy media, including Reuters  and Upstream Online  are reporting that both Shell and Mitsubishi are looking to possibly sell off significant portions of their stake in LNG Canada.

Petronas, another of the partners in LNG Canada, has already sold off 20 per cent of its stake in the project to a liquified natural gas company called MidOcean Energy, giving the company access to some of LNG Canada’s gas output.

The reports say that Shell is looking at unload up to about 30 per cent of its stake in LNG Canada worth about $15 billion. Mitsubishi is looking to sell 15 per cent of its stake.
LNG Canada and the companies involved all declined to comment.

The Reuters report said there a various options for the Shell sale, including a stake in Phase One of the project or an investment in the possible Phase Two which is riskier given the volatility of the liquefied natural gas market at the moment.

There are projections of a coming oversupply of LNG as new projects come online around the world. In December, the Dallas, Texas based “midstream” company, Energy Transfer  cancelled the Final Investment Decision and suspended development of an LNG export facility at Lake Charles in Louisiana.  The company said it was reallocating its investment strategy to a pipeline project in the United States southwest. Energy Transfer previously had deals with Chevron and Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power Company to supply natural gas from the Lake Charles project.

LNG Canada started operations in June, and although it is continuing to ship LNG, the plant has repeatedly run into operational problems especially with Train 2 which had started up on November 6 . Those problems have resulted in frequent both planned  and unplanned flaring incidents in Kitimat.

Just a few weeks after Petronas celebrated the first shipment via the Puteri Sejinjang tanker with LNG on July 7,  on September 30, it announced the sale 20 per cent of its Canadian holdings including LNG Canada and its 20% interest in the North Montney LNG Limited Partnership to MidOcean Energy  giving MidOcean access to 700,000 tonnes a year from LNG Canada, with possibly more if Phase 2 goes ahead. The deal was completed on December 17, 2025.

MidOcean  is an LNG company backed by EIG a multi-national energy investment company and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco.  the world’s fourth largest energy company.

There are number of reasons for the potential sale, banking sources told Northwest Coast Energy News. The simplest may be that the companies want to raise cash while maintaining ownership and control of the overall project, which has a long-term profit potential over the next 30 years. “Now that the plant is built and running, it is no longer a high growth "startup" project; it is a steady "utility" asset,” the source said. “Large energy companies like Shell often prefer to sell 80% of a steady asset to an insurance company or pension fund for a massive lump sum. They can then use that $5–$10 billion to invest in higher-growth (though riskier) new energy projects, while still keeping a small 10% slice of the LNG Canada profits for themselves. “

Reuters had a similar take: “Developers of major infrastructure projects often reduce their stakes once they become operational, allowing them to book profits and recycle cash into new ventures. Large investment firms and infrastructure funds are ready buyers of such stakes, as they like the projects' steady revenue.”