Canadian officials say they'll be ready to start work on gas pipeline right-of-way agreements as soon as the state of Alaska gets its act together on the project.
Alaska was close to an agreement on a pipeline deal last year, but the state Legislature failed to approve the contract negotiated by former Gov. Frank Murkowski.
Newly elected Gov. Sarah Palin says she wants a new approach to pipeline negotiations.
Scott Streiner, vice president of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, said Canadian federal agencies will be in a position to approve major regulatory permits for the Alaska pipeline in 18 to 20 months after applications are received. That's about the same amount of time needed for approvals by U.S. regulators, such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Steiner said.
Streiner spoke at the Alaska Support Industry Alliance's annual “Meet Alaska” conference Jan. 19.
“We've engaged all of the relevant agencies in preparations and we're monitoring developments in Alaska. When the project takes shape, we will be ready to move quickly,” Streiner said.
While Canada waits for Alaska, regulatory approvals for the Mackenzie valley pipeline is giving Canada's federal Environmental Assessment Agency and the National Energy Board important lessons that will help expedite the larger Alaska project if it comes, Streiner told the Alliance conference.
Final approvals for the Mackenzie pipeline should come late this year, he said. Press reports of delays and problems in the regulatory process have been overblown, though lawsuits could yet cause delays, Streiner said. The Mackenzie project is much smaller than what is planned in Alaska but it is still the largest and most complex pipeline project the Canadian agencies have faced.
Streiner said a report from the Joint Review Panel, an interagency group working on the Mackenzie pipeline, is now expected next fall, and it will clear the way for approvals by the National Energy Board by the end of the year.
The regulatory process will have taken about two years from the time final applications for the Mackenzie pipeline were received, which was in August 2005, Streiner said. Discussions between the agencies and the pipeline developers had started in 2003.
