Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 25/00) - Ottawa's past Northern oil and gas expertise has dried up, but the file is not as dusty as some may think, says Dennis Wallace.

Wallace, DIAND's associate deputy minister, says industry is questioning whether the federal government is prepared to respond to major Northern oil and gas developments. He is confident they will develop an environmental and regulatory game plan acceptable to all stakeholders.

Producers, pipeline companies, aboriginal groups, and governments are examining how to get Mackenzie Delta and or Alaska North Slope natural gas south to market.

A pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley is currently being studied. Further west, Alaska and Yukon interests are pushing for a pipeline from Prudhoe Bay south through Alaska and across the Yukon.

Wallace spoke at the North American Gas Strategies Conference in Calgary last week, and until his speech last Tuesday, the feds had said little about commercializing Mackenzie Delta natural gas.

With the exception of the National Energy Board, most of the government's oil and gas expertise and resource base have disappeared, been drastically reduced or re-allocated elsewhere over the past 20 years, Wallace said.

Two decades ago, the government managed its Northern energy responsibilities through the Northern Pipeline Agency, the Canada Oil and Gas Lands Administration and had oil and gas expertise in Natural Resources Canada, Finance Canada, Fisheries Canada, the Environment and Fisheries departments and Indian Affairs and Northern Development, he said.

Despite the decline, the government "is now engaged" when it comes to Northern energy development, he adds.

Wallace said the interdepartmental Northern oil and gas committee was formed earlier this year by the federal government. The committee will act as a co-ordinating body for government activity. A task force, made up of the departments that report to the committee, also currently exists.

Over the summer and fall, the task group has been studying Northern energy issues like royalties, Northern and aboriginal participation (including equity, Northern benefits and training), regulatory harmonization, environmental assessment and Canada-US issues surrounding the Alaska Highway pipeline option.

The feds are also working on a plan to re-establish the Northern Pipeline Agency.

The Aboriginal Pipeline Group, which was formed to promote an NWT pipeline project, sends a powerful message that aboriginals are ready for development, as long as there are long-term benefits like equity participation, jobs, training, and business opportunities, says Wallace.