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LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
Chamber of commerce members from across the Northwest Territories will be descending on Norman Wells this month to meet with the major players in the Sahtu region's Canol shale formation oil and gas exploration boom.

Chris Buist, president of the Norman Wells and District Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is organizing a reception and dinner on Nov. 22 so that chamber members from across the Northwest Territories could fill the service demands from major oil and gas exploration activity in the Sahtu region. - photo courtesy Chris Buist

Chris Buist, president of the Norman Wells and District Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is hosting a reception and dinner event on Nov. 22 with senior representatives from Husky Energy, Imperial Oil Resources, Conoco-Phillips, MGM Energy, and Shell, so that chamber members from outside the region can also contribute to the service demands from some $630 million in exploration spending slated for the region.

"The activity is very sizeable, and seeing as how we're a small community, our services are utilized fairly quickly and we're not in a position to be able to supplement all their needs," Buist said. "It's very overwhelming for a small community, so what ends up happening is, if we can't provide it in the Northwest Territories, then they'll look elsewhere for it."

Buist said the chamber is hoping that more NWT businesses will play a bigger role in the exploration rather than southern companies, which is why the chamber has invited members from across the territory to meet with the exploration companies.

"We're hoping that we could see more Northwest Territories businesses play a bigger role in the exploration than we would see southern companies, so if it is available in the Northwest Territories we'd like to provide that opportunity to Northwest Territories businesses to engage and be part of that prior to looking south. It creates economic development within the Northwest Territories and the dollars stay in the Northwest Territories."

The event will also provide the opportunity for businesses that are not necessarily beneficiary-based to speak to industry, Buist said, estimating about 70 people are expected to attend the dinner at Melnyk Hall.

Representatives from the Hay River Chamber of Commerce, Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, Norman Wells and District Chamber of Commerce, Inuvik Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Simpson Chamber of Commerce have been invited to the event.

Newton Grey, president of the Inuvik chamber, said the event will be an opportunity for business community members from other communities to learn about the resource activity going on around Norman Wells and Tulita, and to provide services that are lacking.

"As business people it is important to learn what challenges they're having there now to see if there are opportunities being created for companies in Inuvik," Grey said. "We wanted to go (to the reception) to support (Norman Wells and District) but also to see seriously if there are opportunities there that business people in Inuvik could seize right now. I know that there is an accommodation problem, a transportation problem. Who knows, maybe somebody from Inuvik could go down and run a little taxi service down there?"

Representatives from the exploration companies have been invited to provide overviews on their plans for the region, including drilling programs, potential production dates/volumes and estimated economic opportunities/tentative expenditures for Sahtu companies at the event.

Government officials have also been invited to the event, including Industry, Tourism, and Investment Minister David Ramsay and Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya, who are expected to be in attendance.

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