Imperial Oil says Mackenzie pipeline deadline will be tight
Company says it is working to secure ‘literally thousands of permits’
CBC News
Posted: Feb 12, 2012 1:21 PM CST
Last Updated: Feb 12, 2012 1:20 PM CST
Imperial Oil's Strathcona Refinery near Edmonton at dawn on Monday, September 5, 2005. The company said it will be difficult to meet the NEB's 2013 deadline because it has to obtain thousands of permits for the line, which is proposing to run natural gas from the Beaufort Sea region to northern Alberta. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press)
At a meeting in Inuvik, N.W.T., last week, an Imperial Oil spokesperson said it will be three years before the company makes a decision on the Mackenzie Gas Project.
The National Energy Board (NEB) said Imperial must decide if it will go ahead with the project by the end of 2013.
But now, another spokesperson, Pius Rolheiser, says the company intends to meet the 2013, but that it is going to be difficult.
“We need to do field work and other permitting work to secure the literally thousands of permits that we need to have in hand. We indicated to the NEB that completing all that work by the end of 2013 would be very challenging,” he said.
Imperial had asked for a three-year extension to the 2013 deadline, but that request was declined.
If Imperial doesn’t meet the deadline, the NEB says part of the review process will have to be redone.
In March 2011, the NEB approved the $16.2 billion natural gas pipeline that will run from the Beaufort Sea, through the Northwest Territories, to a hub in northern Alberta.
Share Tools
Latest North News Headlines
- Helicopter takes out power lines in Whitehorse
- A helicopter pilot is safe after running into a power line Monday morning in the Whistle Bend area of Whitehorse. more »
- Northern Canada's telecom services to expand
- Private telecom companies Ice Wireless and Iristel are partnering to expand cellular and Internet services in Canada's Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut. more »
- RCMP say bullet hit Yellowknife float plane in mid-air
- Police are investigating after they say a float plane in Yellowknife was hit with a bullet in mid-air on Sunday afternoon. more »
- Inuit broadcasting pioneer Jonah Kelly dies
- One of the pioneers of Inuit broadcasting in Nunavut, Jonah Kelly, has passed away. more »
Top News Headlines
- B.C. police shooting video sparks calls for new probe
- Amateur video of the shooting of a mentally ill Vancouver man five years ago has prompted calls for B.C.'s police complaint commissioner and Crown prosecutors to take another look at the case. more »
- 'Engine shutdown' forced Air Canada jet to land
- A Japan-bound Air Canada Boeing 777 made an emergency landing at Toronto's Pearson airport on Monday, after one of its engines failed. more »
- CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining
- The federal Conservatives are defending their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers says their collective bargaining rights are under attack. more »
- Quebec student talks resume amid continuing protests
- A new round of negotiations between students and Quebec's Liberal government over the province's tuition-fee crisis extended into the night, while thousands took to the street in protest, leading to dozens of arrests. more »
- RCMP say bullet hit Yellowknife float plane in mid-air
- Helicopter takes out power lines in Whitehorse
- Housing more affordable in North, says housing corporation
- Coyote bites girl in Whitehorse
- Northern Canada's telecom services to expand
- Yellowknife toddlers catching hand, foot and mouth virus
- Nunavut search for missing mayor to resume
- Inuit broadcasting pioneer Jonah Kelly dies
- Highest number of preventable deaths happen in territories
