If you put the competing politicians together in a nice quiet room — on a secure political detox ward, for instance — and went through B.C.’s liquefied natural gas story in counselling sessions, eventually they would have to agree it has pretty much been a group effort.

This week’s announcement of another mega-project — the doubling of the one-year-old Kitimat LNG plant — stems from more than 15 years of concerted work through four premiers representing different parties.

The B.C. Liberals — the ancestors of the Conservative Party of B.C. — embraced the concept of selling natural gas offshore in a big way and did a lot of the prep work to make it happen.

When she was premier, Christy Clark talked of a day when it would bring in so much money the provincial sales tax would be cancelled.

After the NDP took over in 2017, the new government acknowledged the potential and continued the work.

Simple, right?

If these people had any manners, they would both just graciously note the other side’s contribution and smile for the cameras.

But the multi-billion dollar expansion commitment comes in the middle of an election campaign where every edge counts. So that’s not going to happen.

Conservatives and New Democrats managed to agree that a $33 billion investment in B.C. on top of the original $40 billion spent in the first phase is a good thing. But they couldn’t resist sniping at each other over who gets the most credit.

It’s like two stars sharing an Oscar win and starting a catfight on stage over who out-acted the other.

The NDP greeted the announce­ment with a news release headed: “David Eby secures largest private sector investment in Canadian history.”

The impression of a heroic leader single-handedly landing the biggest whale ever caught was a bit much for the Opposition.

Particularly when the sub-head was: “Conservatives would undermine Team Canada approach, put projects at risk with chaos.”

What rankles them even more is Eby’s history of pouring scorn on the LNG vision when he was in opposition. He told the legislature in 2015 the contract terms came up short on several fronts.

To be fair, his criticism was more about the contract terms, and he conceded the gas was a valuable resource.

But when the NDP government took over, it relaxed the terms considerably. LNG Canada is operating under a regime far more favourable to the company than the one the Liberals planned, and that Eby condemned.

In 2015, he told the legislature: “Handing over a public resource for electoral advantage to cover up for promises that could never be fulfilled is a long way from heroic.”

He slammed the terms for locking in lower prices for years, ignoring First Nations’ objections and handing over a massive resource without job guarantees. But the NDP made the deal even more attractive for investors, and it’s the basis for the mammoth investment in northern B.C.

His criticism a decade ago also looks ironic given the $1.5 billion budget error that came to light a few weeks ago in calculating natural gas revenue.

His government had major difficulties this year just counting the revenue properly, which isn’t much of a confidence booster.

Conservatives, meanwhile, sniffed that the project is just one expansion, after too many years. “Under the NDP, most LNG projects once proposed either stalled or were abandoned under the weight of red tape and uncertain permitting.

“The NDP have an ideological disposition against B.C. LNG.”

That’s absurd.

It’s one of the few revenue streams at the moment that looks to have real potential. Both sides desperately need it, and they’re both committed to maximizing it.

B.C. got left behind in the LNG race while the U.S. and other countries raced ahead. There is one plant operating now, and a handful of others in the works. Given the credit-hogging and bickering this week, it’s a miracle the province even got this far.

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