SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The National Energy Board (NEB) heard final arguments in Yellowknife last week concerning whether or not to allow the building of the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project.

Pius Rolheiser is the public affairs adviser for Imperial Oil Limited. The National Energy Board heard final arguments in Yellowknife on the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project. - Jeanne Gagnon/NNSL photo

The oil and gas companies behind the project said the pipeline is a positive project and in the publics best interest.

The pipeline would result in significant benefits to the companies involved, to government as well as the people of the North and Canadians, said Pius Rolheiser, a public affairs adviser with Imperial Oil Limited.

"We believe we have a very sound, a very positive project. We believe that the National Energy Board should issue the permits that we're seeking because we believe that the project is in the public interest and should be allowed to proceed," he said.

"We're confident in the evidence that we're presenting to the National Energy Board. We believe that it's a sound project environmentally, a sound project economically and a sound project socio-economically."

Ecology North recognizes unavoidable environmental costs exist with the pipeline, said its program director Doug Ritchie, but to justify such costs there needs to be environmental benefits. This could come in the form of carbon pricing, carbon offsets or heritage-type funds for future generations to share some of the profits, for instance, he said.

"We realize that communities need the economic opportunities. But looking at it, we saw that this project has environmental costs and benefits. We wanted to make sure that the environmental benefits outweigh the environmental costs," said Ritchie. Northern Pipelines Projects Limited outlined what it can do to help Northerners receive maximum benefit from the project during construction, said Doug Anguish, the company's project manager.

"Ways that we're willing to accommodate diversity, involvement and inclusion of Northerners in the pipeline as well," he said.

"I think it's a great opportunity for Northerners, not just in jobs, but also in some of the spin offs and in the contracts that will be required during the construction period."

The Mackenzie Gas Project will begin operation in 2018 at the earliest, pushing back construction of the $16.2 billion pipeline to sometime after 2013, Imperial Oil and its pipeline partners announced earlier this year.

In March 2007, Imperial Oil had told the National Energy Board the earliest the pipeline could start up was 2014.

The companies had cited regulatory delays, lack of a fiscal agreement, project restaffing requirements and seasonal constraints as the primary reasons for the project's four-year delay.

Because of that delay, Rolheiser said it asked the board for an extension of the sunset clause – proposed expiry of project approval if construction has not begun - from Dec. 31, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2016.

Rolheiser said it's difficult to say what cost impact the delay will have on the project.

"Certainly, the commodity prices, labour prices, fuel prices, all that sort of thing, were significantly higher two years ago than they are today. What they will be like two years from now, I can't predict," he said.

The National Energy Board will continue hearing final arguments surrounding the Mackenzie Gas Project starting April 20 in Inuvik.

A decision is expected in September.