|
Aboriginals claim financing in place for Mackenzie gasline
Gary Park, PNA Canadian correspondent
A tentative deal has been reached to support a one-third stake by the Aboriginal Pipeline Group in the proposed Mackenzie Valley gasline, say aboriginal leaders in the Northwest Territories.
If the final pieces are put in place, one of the biggest obstacles to building the 800-mile line from the Mackenzie Delta to northern Alberta will have been cleared away.
“Our negotiating team has reached a tentative agreement on the terms of an arrangement under which the Aboriginal Pipeline Group can secure financing for its participation in and ownership of the proposed pipeline,” APG Chairman Fred Carmichael said in a statement Feb. 19.
“The tentative financing arrangement includes funding for the project definition of the proposed pipeline,” he said.
But it could be several weeks before there is confirmation and the details are released.
TransCanada mum on deal At the top of that list is approval by the Mackenzie Delta Producers Group — Imperial Oil Ltd., Shell Canada Ltd., ConocoPhillips Canada and ExxonMobil Canada — which signed a memorandum of understanding with the APG in October 2001. Imperial is controlled by ExxonMobil.
Carmichael, while confident the deal complies with the MOU, conceded that it must be ratified by the producers group, which has made no decisions on who will build or operate the pipeline.
Chief Frank T’seleie of the K’ahsho Got’ine in Fort Good Hope told the Globe and Mail newspaper that TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. will provide financing to the APG.
T’seleie said that in return for paying the pre-construction costs, TransCanada will build the line and, under certain conditions, acquire a 4 percent to 5 percent equity stake from producers outside the producers group who would supply the volumes to fill the APG’s one-third share.
Carmichael said the deal would not require the APG to reduce its one-third equity position by selling part of that stake to a third party — an arrangement that likely would be opposed by the producers group.
TransCanada has steadfastly refused to comment on whether it is even involved in negotiations.
Carmichael has been reported as saying the agreement assures his group of the C$300 million it needs to lock up its equity stake in the project, as well as the C$70 million it needs to join the MDPG in the preliminary engineering and regulatory phase.
Once financing to cover the APG’s participation is in place, the MDPG will be in a position to file a preliminary information package with regulators as the next step towards a formal application.
| 