Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Nov 01/02) - The producer group from the Mackenzie Gas Project will be visiting the Delta to discuss new plans for development in the area.

Imperial Oil, ConocoPhillips, Shell Canada and Exxon Mobil will be here Nov. 4-8 for a follow-up to meetings held here last summer, where the producers introduced the Mackenzie Gas Project.

Brian Plesuk, with ConocoPhillips, said the group will be spending more time in Aklavik and Tuk, this tour in answer to a request from last summer.

"How come you guys spend all of your time in Inuvik?" Plesuk said they were asked. "So we're going to respond to that, by spending one night in Inuvik and two nights in Tuk and Aklavik."

The group will be in Inuvik Nov. 4, Aklavik on the 5th and 6th, and Tuk on 7th and 8th.

The meetings will focus on field development and gathering systems needed in the Delta to feed a Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Plesuk said while they will partner in the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, the gathering system that will feed the pipeline, should it be built, will be owned by the four producers, but both the transmission line and the gathering system would be operated by Imperial.

In the gas fields there will be three separate applications made for development at Taglu (Imperial Oil), Inglutak (Shell) and Parsons Lake (ConocoPhillips on behalf of ExxonMobil).

"We will meet with any individual, organization, collective that wants to meet with us," he said.

They will hold private and public meetings with individuals and groups as well as tour the schools.

"At the end of the day, this development is going to benefit the next generation," Plesuk said.

"I think we have done a lousy job of engaging the next generation.

"I think it's been a real shortcoming that we have not had direct contact with school kids around any of the proposals for the pipeline and we're going to correct that this time," he said.

Following the tour of the three communities directly affected by the field development the group may also tour Holman, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic if there is interest, he said.

"We'll produce a real rapid newsletter that says, 'Here's what we did and here are the issues, if you want to see us, just whistle,' " Plesuk said.