Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 14/02) - People in the territory are pumped after gas producers said they will spend $250 million in pursuit of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Western Geco's George Moskal has been coming to Inuvik for seasonal work since 1972. Moskal thinks a Mackenzie Valley pipeline could make his life more stable. - Lynn Lau/NNSL photo

"You don't spend a quarter of a billion dollars without being fairly sure that you are going to go through with the project," said Lynette Storoz, marketing spokesperson for Northern Transportation Company Ltd. (NTCL) in Hay River.

Hay River has been buzzing about a pipeline for two years, since PetroCanada decided to drill. "And any time NTCL gets busy, the town of Hay River instantly feels it," said Storoz.

The commitment makes NTCL more comfortable about planning for the future role it will play during proposed pipeline construction. NTCL is sure to play a huge role in barging pipe and related equipment up the Mackenzie River to various staging areas.

"The length of the pipeline, depending on the size, could make it the largest ever undertaken in North America," said Storoz.

The proposed pipe could stretch from the Beaufort Sea through to the Alberta field.

"It's not just pipe. It's camps and fuel and equipment and people. So there will be increased air traffic and road traffic," she said, referring to the project as a huge logistical puzzle. And it could take thousands of people to put together.

"Any able-bodied person now living in the Northwest Territories is going to be employed. It is a tremendous opportunity for Northerners," she said.

NTCL was involved in an oil pipeline project in the mid-'80s that moved pipe from Imperial Oil's Norman Wells site, also travelling along the Mackenzie Valley. The size of the gas pipe is much larger than the oil-carrying pipe. More people would be needed to move gas pipe than the oil line.

"We've got pipe that could be substantially larger and moving twice the distance that we could be servicing," said Storoz.

All aspects of the potential line are still up in the air, she said.

A lot of work in little time

When the scope of the project is considered, the four years the producers have given as a timeline before laying pipe seems short.

She summed up the questions surrounding the massive proposed project: "What sized pipe? How many years? How many places do you want to stage? Where the pipe will be bought? How will it be bought? Are there mills in North America that can mill it? If there are, do they have the capacity? If not, how long until they can build the capacity? How much is railed? How much is trucked? How much comes through Hay River? How much comes around Barrow? Where do you build the camps for the people? Where do you find the people? What are the benefit agreements for the people along the river? What about training programs? How much equipment? Will the work be done over three seasons or four seasons? How much aircraft is required?"

Companies in Yellowknife are also getting ready for a possible pipe. Braden-Burry Expediting is planning to form a joint venture with the Inuvialuit Development Corporation that would get it into the oil and gas field expediting business based out of Inuvik. That announcement was coincidentally made at the same time as the pipeline application announcement.

"The reason we wanted to get involved was because of the interest in oil and gas," said Braden-Burry's chairperson Gord Stewart.

Stewart said additional employment in Inuvik will probably be part of the joint venture's business plan.

IDC could benefit

The Inuvialuit Development Corporation (IDC), based in Inuvik, also stands to make big gains from the construction of a pipeline. The development arm of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation is involved in everything from air transport to gas exploration through a number of joint ventures. But it isn't putting all its eggs in one basket.

"We won't put any really serious money down until we have some indication of where the pipeline is going and if we do have money down, we make sure it is backed up for the length of the project," said IDC's Patrick Schmidt.

Alaska not out of the picture

Western Geco has been busy with exploration work in the Beaufort-Delta for the last few years. "There's not much money made with stranded gas so everyone's hoping a pipeline eventually comes through," said Western Geco spokesperson O.D. Hansen. But he cautioned the possibility of an Alaskan pipeline is very real. "It's not a given that the pipeline is going to follow just because the permitting has been done," he said.

Exploration projects are often energy-price driven and gas has been selling low. "If anything there have been cutbacks in our programs rather than increases."

George Moskal is working as an expeditor for Western Geco and has been moving to Inuvik for the seasonal work season since 1972. A pipeline would make his life a bit more stable.

"It would be good if it did come through. It's going to be exciting and it's going to be busy. I think it's going to work out in the long run. Maybe we'll be here for the next 10 to 12 years."