northern B.C.

CALGARY — A unit of Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has joined the liquefied natural gas export fray on Canada’s West Coast, adding yet another player to a crowded field analysts have said is poised for a shakeout.

Woodside Energy Holdings Pty Ltd. is seeking permission from Canada’s National Energy Board to export 20 million tonnes of super-chilled gas per year for 25 years from a proposed terminal at Grassy Point, B.C., a narrow peninsula about 30 kilometres north of Prince Rupert.

Woodside in January secured exclusive rights from the B.C. government to build an export facility on the northern coast.

LNG is seen as the next big opportunity for Western Canadian natural gas, which faces new competition from U.S. shale gas in traditional export markets. Production has been hampered by low prices.