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More Mackenzie project stirrings
If the Mackenzie Gas Project ever does go ahead it faces a new price tag of C$16.1 billion, up C$4.8 billion from its most recent estimate in 2007.
In filing that information with the National Energy Board, operator Imperial Oil and its partner ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips Canada, Shell Canada and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group complied with its requirement to keep the federal regulator updated on the estimated costs of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline and a gas gathering system.
However, the figure does not include the cost of developing the anchor fields, which have been targeted for initial production of 823 million cubic feet per day, although the inclusion of other gas discoveries in the region could raise the volumes to 1.8 billion cubic feet per day.
At the same time, the proponents said they have yet to make a decision to start construction because of the prevailing gas market conditions.
Minister encouraged But Northwest Territories Industry Minister David Ramsay is encouraged by the comments of Imperial Chief Executive Officer Rick Kruger in October that the company is exploring a possible revamp of the MGP that could see it tied into exports of LNG.
Ramsay told the Globe and Mail that move is a positive sign for the long term that the three Mackenzie Delta anchor fields — Taglu (Imperial), Parsons Lake (ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil) and Niglintgak (Shell) — could still be developed.
He said Kruger’s thoughts were not just “dreamed up. They are the best news we’ve had on the project in some time.”
“Just the fact that the proponents are still interested in constructing that pipeline is good news. It’s five or 10 years out, but it’s something that we can hopefully look forward to for getting Mackenzie gas to market,” he said.
Ramsay said that if exploration activity in the Central Mackenzie Valley that is focused on the Canol shale oil prospect near Norman Wells results in commercial development, additional amounts of natural gas and natural gas liquids would spin off from the oil extraction.
He suggested that could “enter into the economic viability of the (MGP) itself.”
Ramsay also noted that the transfer of regulatory power from the Canadian government to the NWT, scheduled for April 1, could see the territorial government use its size to avoid long, drawn-out regulatory approvals.
“We’re not some big, cumbersome bureaucracy. We can see the direct impact that decisions are going to have on people, on the economy and on our environment and we can act accordingly,” he told the newspaper.
He suggested it’s more likely that Mackenzie gas would feed LNG facilities in British Columbia, which could mean a further boost in MGP costs to C$20 billion.
—Gary Park
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