Yukon comes up empty-handed in call for Peel Plateau bids

Gary Park

The Yukon’s fourth disposition of oil and natural gas rights fizzled, without any bids being received.

The call area was in the Peel Plateau basin, next to the Northwest Territories border, just south of the Arctic Circle and covering almost 100,000 acres.

A resource assessment of the Peel Plateau and Plain had identified the potential at about 2.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, a possible supply source for the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

The call for bids followed extensive public consultations and information gathering to achieve what Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang said was a delicate balance between oil and gas development by opening up areas that are relatively unexplored and the desire for protection of traditional, ecological and cultural values and wildlife.