Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 21/02) - A pipeline could be built before spring after Paramount Resources received the permitting needed to build a pipeline and gathering system in the Deh Cho region's Cameron Hills.

Last Thursday the Mackenzie Land and Water Board issued a permit for the Calgary-based oil and gas company to build lines that would connect proposed wells in the southeast Northwest Territories to Paramount's existing facilities in Alberta.

"We still require several other regulatory approvals," said Paramount's Shirley Maaskant.

Federal cabinet approval would be needed on a development plan, she said.

"We also require approval from the National Energy Board for our trans-boundary pipeline and we also require approval from the National Energy Board on our gathering system."

The gathering system approval can't happen until after Paramount receives cabinet approval on the development plan, said Maaskant.

"So there are some things that are linked to each other," she said.

But if things fall into place now, workers and equipment could move quickly into the Cameron Hills.

"It needs to happen before this spring. We have to be able to facilitate the project completely and be done by approximately the end of March," said Maaskant. The ground needs to be frozen in order to support the heavy equipment needed for the project.

Paramount's efforts to drill wells and tie them in to its Alberta infrastructure via a 15-kilometre pipeline were frustrated when aboriginal groups opposed the project. They were not satisfied with compensation packages and benefits related to the project.