Calgary AB (Sep 26/03) - The Aboriginal Pipeline Group is advancing its goal of one-third ownership in a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, with or without Deh Cho involvement.

To date, the Inuvialuit and the Sahtu have signed on to ownership and control of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group (APG).

The Gwich'in are still studying the proposal, according to Carl Chala, general manager of the APG. He said the organization would prefer to have the Deh Cho First Nations participating in the investment opportunity and has made a provision for that.

"What the APG has done is allowed a kind of a place marker for the Deh Cho to come on when they want to," Chala said, adding that there is no deadline.

With funding in place for preliminary pipeline studies, the APG is reviewing the work being done by operator Imperial Oil, Chala noted.

In addition, the APG is trying to keep communication flowing to the communities on what ownership in the project will mean.

As well, the APG is pursuing approximately $700 million in bank financing for its share of pipeline construction.

There is still some work to do on creating the entity that will hold the units in the limited partnership, a decision that will have tax consequences, Chala explained.

He added that the access and benefits agreements that are being contemplated by the regions in the Mackenzie Valley are not part of the APG's role.

The APG will have up to 10 years after gas initially flows to earn up to one-third of revenues from new gas fed into the pipe, Chala said.

He added that the marketplace is "showing all the right signs" for the pipeline to be built, but cautioned that many things remain to be done between now and then.