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“We are really focused on our project on its own merits,” said Brendan Bell, minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development for the Northwest Territories. “We understand it isn't (developing) in a vacuum, but the economics are compelling for it to move forward, with or without other proposals.”
Bell, in Anchorage to meet with state officials and the Alaska Support Industry Alliance's annual “Meet Alaska” conference, said Jan. 18 he expected the project to provide training and business opportunities for all residents of the Northwest Territories, including members of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, which will own a third of the pipeline.
The entire project would include development of an estimated 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas at onshore fields in the Mackenzie Delta. It includes three anchor field developments, gas and gas liquids gathering system pipelines and facilities, and the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline, with an initial capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet per day. The pipeline would be expandable to accommodate gas from future fields. On Jan. 22, Imperial Oil Resources Ventures LTD announced in Calgary that co-venturers in the project had signed a socio-economic agreement with the government of the Northwest Territories.
Still, according to reports in the Canadian press, a spokesman for the Northern Alberta First Nation, the Dene ThaŤ, said Jan. 23 that the Dene ThaŤ and Imperial Oil plan to request another 10 weeks to work out a deal on the proposed pipeline. The Dene ThaŤ recently won a landmark case in which a judge ruled that the First Nation was not properly consulted regarding the proposed pipeline route, which crosses some of their traditional lands.
The agreement announced a day earlier outlines a broad range of socio-economic topics, with agreement between the parties in a number of specific areas related to the proposed project, Imperial Oil spokesmen said. These areas include training and employment, business opportunities, sustainable development, and ongoing monitoring of the proposed project, both during construction and operation. Randy Broiles, senior vice president of Imperial Oil, called the agreement a significant step forward in the project's progress. “It defines the key areas of agreement and commitment between the project proponents and the government of the Northwest Territories, and establishes a foundation for moving forward together.”
Now that the agreement has been signed and executed, details of the specific terms will be filed with the Joint Review Panel, which is currently conducting public hearings into the proponents' regulatory applications. The Mackenzie Gas Project is being proposed by Imperial, ConocoPhillips Canada, Shell Canada, ExxonMobil Canada and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group. The APG was formed in 2000 to represent the ownership interest of the Aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Territories in the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline.
“Through the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, Aboriginal northerners are now in a position to maximize both ownership and benefits of a Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline,” chairman Fred Carmichael said in a statement on the APG Web site. “But that doesn't mean we are any less concerned about the protection of our land.”
Carmichael, who is also president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, was born in Aklavik.
“Protecting the land is a top priority,” he said. “We also have a responsibility to develop an economic base for our children and grandchildren. I lived in a tent as a teenager. I know what it is like to chop wood and haul it by dog team. My grandchildren will never make their living from the land. That part of our world has changed forever. That's why I am determined to take advantage of the economic opportunities that controlled, responsible resource development will bring.”
Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.
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