N.W.T. SEEKS MORE FEDERAL PIPELINE AID
MACKENZIE VALLEY ROUTE Imperial, partners push back decision on moving forward
CALGARY • The government of the Northwest Territories is asking Ottawa for more help to keep the $7-billion Mackenzie natural gas pipeline from another potentially fatal setback, after Imperial Oil Ltd. and its partners pushed back to November making a decision on whether they are moving forward.
Brendan Bell, Energy Minister for the N. W. T., said the federal government should step in to ensure the oil companies and aboriginal communities along the pipeline route complete key access and benefits agreements that are keeping the project from making progress.
“When the two sides are this far apart, the federal government should propose arbitration if the two sides cannot come to terms after a certain amount of time,” Mr. Bell said in an interview. “There is too much to be lost for us not to come to terms on access and benefits. We are very happy with the work that the federal government has done, but we want them to take this the next step.”
Mr. Bell said he will ask other provincial energy ministers meeting today in St. Andrews, N.B., to help him press Ottawa to make the pipeline a national priority as Canadian consumers face a winter of unprecedented heating bills.
In a letter to the National Energy Board last week, Imperial said it is not ready to proceed with regulatory reviews because key concerns remain unresolved.
“ The proponents believe that additional time is warranted to determine if these outstanding matters can be resolved,” the letter says. “In view of this, the project proponents will advise the National Energy Board and the Joint Review Panel in November, 2005, of our willingness to proceed with a public hearing.”
Mr. Bell said he is concerned the project’s timetable is slipping to the point it may be overtaken by its rival, the US$20-billion Alaska gas pipeline. The Alaska project appears to be close to completing fiscal terms with the state of Alaska, one of the final hurdles to its advancement.
The U. S. government is even keener to push forward the Alaska project to diversify its energy sources after Hurricane Katrina impaired the U. S. Gulf Coast, a major oil- and gas-producing area, he said.
“ There is a renewed urgency for us and that is a point we need to impress,” Mr. Bell said.
Five communities affected by the pipeline are in talks with pipeline proponents over access and benefits deals involving fees and payments, jobs and training in exchange for giving access to their lands.
Imperial Oil and its partners -ExxonMobil Corp., ConocoPhillips, Shell Canada Ltd. and the
Aboriginal Pipeline Group — halted field work on the project in April because they were unhappy with high aboriginal expectations and the readiness of regulators to proceed efficiently.
The federal government has since pledged $500-million for socio-economic benefits in the North. Key agreements were also worked out with one of the aboriginal groups, the Deh Cho, which had been opposed to the project.
Even if the consortium decides in November to move forward with regulatory reviews, they are unlikely to start until January because regulators need two months to get organized.
“ We are certainly more encouraged now than we were in April,” said Imperial spokesman Pius Rolheiser. “ We believe that additional time is necessary to determine if the remaining outstanding matters can be resolved. It’s too early to say if it will mean a delay in the project schedule.”