Fort Simpson (Sep 29/03) - Communities interested in oil and gas related projects must be careful not to compromise the Deh Cho First Nation's position in self-government negotiations with the federal government, grand chief Herb Norwegian said late last week.

"If our people stick together then we will eventually prevail," he said.

Asked if communities supporting Mackenzie Gas Project's winter work program would be a detriment to the DCFN, Norwegian replied: "not necessarily."

The DCFN cannot dictate to the communities, but encourages them only to proceed with projects if they have "iron-clad guarantees" of benefits even beyond those stipulated in the DCFN's interim self-government agreements, he said.

"If we're not careful the oil and gas companies will end up getting the gas and we'll end up getting the hose," Norwegian said, adding the federal government's existing royalty regime amounts to "giving away the farm" to industry.

There will be close to $10 million in contracts awarded Deh Cho region this winter, said Darrell Becker of Imperial Oil.

The Mackenzie Gas Project is aiming to have permit applications submitted to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board by mid-October. "What we hope is that we've got communities supportive of our program by that time," said Becker, later noting consultations with First Nations have been ongoing since May.

"We are discussing benefits in particular with these communities ... (they) want to understand these benefits a lot more clearly before they commit."

The project will entail studying sand and gravel deposits and river and creek crossings as well as frost heave samplings. Preferred locations for facilities such as compressor stations will also be checked for suitability. Most of the work will be done along the proposed pipeline corridor.

A regional workshop to overview the project is scheduled for Oct. 1 and 2 in Fort Simpson. Representatives from all levels of government have been invited, said Becker.

The Producers Group, led by Imperial Oil, is targeting April to file its final application for a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. Gathering the information from the proposed winter work program is "very important," Becker said.

If the program does not proceed as planned, the Producers Group will then look at alternative methods of collecting the data.

"I don't think it would be the end (of the pipeline project). I know that it would not be the end," said Becker.