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While Canadians seem more concerned than ever about the costs and risks of pipelines, the Far North is feeling the pain of not having one.
With the Mackenzie Gas Project on ice because of low natural-gas prices, the Northwest Territories is searching for other ways to fuel its economy, while dealing with the human toll resulting from lack of opportunity.
As N.W.T. leaders met in Calgary this week to take stock of Arctic oil and gas activity, or more precisely the lack of it, they had this advice for Northern B.C. communities trying to kill the proposed Northern Gateway project: Be careful what you wish for.
For decades, the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline from Inuvik to Alberta faced many of the hurdles that are troubling the Northern Gateway oil sands pipeline today: unsettled aboriginal land claims, worries that development would alter traditional ways of life, warnings about the environmental impacts, concerns that the pipeline’s fuel would be used to support the growth of Alberta’s oil sands. Most of these issues have been resolved, opponents have moved to new causes, and the N.W.T. is eager to get started on the $11-billion-plus project.
But it’s too late. Natural-gas prices have slumped so much they don’t justify the investment. Oil companies that pushed hard to get the pipeline built, that a decade ago were eager to ramp up exploration and production in the Mackenzie Delta, are busy with new plans.
Today, it’s the $5.5-billion Northern Gateway that is getting all the attention. Companies want it badly to export Alberta oil to markets in Asia. But once again, aboriginal and green organizations are targeting the regulatory process, stirring political opposition, warning about the risks to the environment of oil spills and of oil sands growth.
What’s less talked about is the risk of scaring away investment — and how tough it is to get it back when industry momentum moves elsewhere.
That’s what’s keeping David Ramsay, the N.W.T.’s Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, very busy these days.
“We have been struggling, to be honest with you,” he said on the meeting’s sidelines, referring to the N.W.T.’s economy. “In the Beaufort Delta there is not a lot happening right now.”
His advice to B.C.: Find a balance between development and the environment rather than push opportunity away.
“We are trying to find a balance in the N.W.T., too,” he said. “We need the jobs and the opportunities. And we need to get our resources to market, and that is what we intend to do.”
For the rest of this article, please go to the National Post website: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/03/15/a-cautionary-pipeline-tale-for-b-c-from-n-w-t/?__lsa=69407e92