Premier addresses Arctic Gas Symposium
Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 12/01) - Premier Stephen Kakfwi says energy hungry North Americans have a saviour in the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.
Addressing delegates at the Arctic Gas Symposium in Calgary Thursday, Kakfwi called the proposed pipeline the "missing link" between the continental market and vast reserves of oil and natural gas in the Northwest Territories.
"The time is at hand to develop and begin to export our Mackenzie/Liard gas reserves," Kakfwi told delegates.
Kakfwi stressed that gas producers should have the final say regarding the route that Northern gas should be shipped south. However, he noted that a pipeline through the Mackenzie Valley would have benefits for producers in both Alaska and NWT.
"They have a vested interest in providing a reliable supply of reasonably priced gas to their customers," said Kakfwi.A Mackenzie Valley pipeline was calculated to be commercially viable at less than half the current market price for natural gas by the Canadian Energy Research Institute.
Four major gas producers in the Mackenzie Delta have indicated they are prepared to apply for a Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline by year's end.
