Mackenzie Delta drilling gives lift to barge traffic

Gary Park

PNA Canadian Correspondent

The pace is quickening ahead of this winter’s drilling season on the Mackenzie Delta as barge traffic on the Mackenzie River races 40 percent ahead of 1999.

A spokeswoman for Northern Transportation Co. Ltd., whose existing fleet can handle 220,000 tons, said summer shipments should reach 140,000 tons of fuel and dry cargo.

The company currently has 90 barges pulled by 10 mainline tugs, with tows ranging up to 7,000 tons over about a 15-week season, which usually ends in early October.

The petroleum industry-related shipments are the largest in 20 years, starting with Petro-Canada’s decision to advance its drilling program, the spokeswoman said.

In addition, Anderson Exploration is shipping a rig to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, along with seismic materials and a camp to start drilling its Delta lease.

A further increase in barge traffic is anticipated next summer, when Alberta Energy Co. and Chevron Canada Resources are expected to step up their activity.

The 100 percent aboriginal-owned NTCL, a federal government corporation until 1985, is the only large-scale marine transportation firm operating in Canada’s western Arctic, although there are two small operators.

The firm has also been successful in delivering Canadian fuel to Alaska because Prudhoe Bay typically has a higher sulfur content and is not suitable for providing a low-sulfur diesel fuel, the NTCL spokeswoman said.