As you know, the Enbridge Gateway and Kinder Morgan
TransMountain pipeline proposals across British Columbia have been in the news
for a while and will not go away for some time into the distant future.
Headlines include, “Pipeline: Weighing the risks against the
rewards,”
“In
case of accident,”
“Living
with the line,”
“Beyond
the protests, pipelines are a solid investment,”
“Deadline
imposed on Gateway review,”
“Kinder
Morgan’s $4.1 billion plan to push oil through southern B.C.,”
“Pipeline
feud in spotlight as oil-sands prospects dim,”
“First
Nations miffed with pipeline regulatory process,”
…just
to name a few.
Perhaps, with all the controversy, those companies need to
think outside the box (or pipe)?
Enter the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP), an already completed
process with much Aboriginal support with the various land claims settled and a
permit to build thanks to the National Energy Board (NEB).
Perhaps too, with all the controversy of the aforementioned
pipeline proposals, those two companies especially Enbridge should think of “a
northward course of empire.” As you may know too, the MGP is to one-day
transport natural gas from the Mackenzie Delta in Canada’s western arctic to
markets south to the oil sands of Alberta. Imperial Oil Limited is the lead
proponent on the MGP which is to use a pipeline eventually built by TransCanada
Pipelines (TPL).
Unfortunately, due to low gas prices, the MGP is on hold long-term
with a right-of-way that might be the right way?
If Enbridge or even Kinder Morgan is looking for a proven
less-controversial route to transport oil, why not pipe oil north down the
Mackenzie river on to the Beaufort Sea, and gain the real gateway to the
Orient? After all, the Aboriginal groups there are ready and willing along with
the Government of the Northwest Territories looking to spark economic
development. Furthermore, the natural gas of the Mackenzie Delta can then be
used to fuel the project. Once oil hits the Arctic, it can be transported over
to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. There, oil can then be transported via the Alaska
Pipeline System, a long-standing operational pipeline that transports oil down to
Valdez. And then to?...where else, the Orient where China is waiting.
The Gateway and TransMountain pipelines are controversial
with no guarantees from the British Columbia government and the First Nations
have threatened to “go to the wall” to defend and protect their aboriginal
rights to the point of stalling the projects with a long-lasting court process.
The MGP route is a round about way but the idea is something
Enbridge and Kinder Morgan should consider even if it will cost time and more
money. After all, it’s likely time for the companies to think outside the box
as their respective right-of-way may not be the right way.
