INUVIK
The new Industry, Tourism and Investment Department Petroleum Resources division office in Inuvik should be a busy place in the next few months, according to Premier Bob McLeod.

Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, Premier Bob McLeod and Inuvik Mayor Floyd Roland officially opened the new GWNT Petroleum Resources division office June 24 at the Semmler building. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

"Right here in the Inuvik area, there is tremendous potential for development," said McLeod. "We're committed to developing these resources in a responsible way, to develop these resources and make the most of our potential."

The seven-member office is working out of the Semmler building, and will deal with resource development in the Beaufort-Delta region.

"This office is now responsible for all future oil and gas exploration in the onshore NWT. Our government has started to work on its very first call-cycle, which is expected to be launched in the fall," McLeod said. "A big piece of this work is the preparation before moving to the eventual call for bids. This wouldn't have happened without devolution, and it shows we're serious about decentralization and moving jobs to the regions."

Afterwards, McLeod said he was hoping the new office would "lead to some development in the future.

"Our expectation is (that it will be very busy) and we're going to work very hard to make that happen. People have to recognize that the oil and gas industry is very competitive and we have to be competitive in order to get that development."

The office will deal with onshore applications to start with. The NWT devolution agreement, McLeod said, has a provision for the GNWT to take responsibility for offshore applications after six months, and that

will be gradually assumed.

"We're almost at the state now to begin those negotiations," he said.

"It's very important to us as a territory to be able to have jobs and development for our economy," added McLeod. "That's not just to create employment, but also to help pay for social programs and infrastructure. We need to have jobs because we ask our students to stay in school, and we need to have jobs and opportunities waiting for them when they come back.

"We've always felt that Northerners should be making decisions about things that affect Northerners, rather than go to Ottawa to make decisions. We think that we have a natural affinity to our land and our water, to protect our land, and as a smaller government, we can move a lot faster and be a lot more nimble about making decisions."

McLeod has been pushing the resource development agenda diligently for some time now, and he said he believes the major players in the NWT are on board.

"We are pushing very much for balanced development, sustainable development. I think we have the same opinion, but perhaps I put more emphasis on the jobs and benefits from development than they do. They're our partners and I don't think we're taking any contrary views on anything," he said.

McLeod added he expects the offshore applications to be a major component of resource development while his government remains "bullish" about the fracking opportunities in regions such as the Sahtu, despite recent setbacks.

"There's another call for bids, and we remain bullish there will be interest in that," he said.