If approved, the 1,200-kilometre natural gas pipeline would be built through the N.W.T.'s Mackenzie Valley to link northern gas with existing networks in Alberta. (CBC)

The National Energy Board (NEB) will hold a final round of hearings in mid-April on the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline in the Northwest Territories.

The energy board, an independent federal agency that regulates parts of Canada's energy industry, announced Wednesday that it's ready to hear final arguments on the pipeline proposal.

The NEB will then have to decide whether to approve the project, currently estimated to cost $16.2 billion to build. That decision is expected to be made this fall.

Hearings will take place from April 12 to 17 in Yellowknife, then continue in Inuvik, N.W.T., from April 20 to 24, the board stated in a release.

The National Energy Board began hearing evidence in January 2006 on the proposal by a consortium of companies — led by Calgary-based Imperial Oil — to build a 1,200-kilometre pipeline from the N.W.T.'s Mackenzie Delta, through Inuvik and down the Mackenzie Valley to northern Alberta.

The consortium also includes ExxonMobil Corp., ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group.

'Rules of the game' set

The NEB's final argument stage means pipeline proponents and interveners have one last chance to make their case for or against the project to the energy board, which will then decide whether to approve it.

"With the schedule that we have announced, our goal is to set out clear 'rules of the game' for the many people and organizations who are interested in the outcome of the hearing," energy board panel chairman Kenneth Vollman stated in the release.

Just last week, the pipeline proposal was approved with conditions by the independent Joint Review Panel, which issued a report examining the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the pipeline.

Before hearing final arguments, the NEB will gather comments on the panel's recommendations from the project applicants and individuals who participated in either the NEB or review panel hearings.