Enbridge Inc. CEO Al Monaco told media June 5 that he retains hope that his company's proposed $6 billion Northern Gateway pipeline will eventually get the go-ahead to carry Asia-bound oil from Alberta through B.C.
B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake agreed the pathway to yes still exists for the proposed pipeline, but it's a narrow one.
In its final written argument, the province declared the project in its current form isn't up to its standards and the draft conditions set out by the National Energy Board (NEB) aren't sufficient. Lake said the door is still open for the province to give its blessing if the Joint Review Panel adopts some of his government's recommendations.
"I would say there's a slim possibility of that happening," he said in a phone interview with Western Investor affiliate, the Prince George Citizen.
"It's difficult to know what the NEB would do with that information [in the province's final argument] and how they would translate that into conditions."
Last summer, the provincial government unveiled five conditions it said must be met before the it would consider giving the green light to the proposal to connect Alberta's oilsands and Kitimat with a $6.5 billion pipeline and terminal. Although the final say rests with the federal government, the province has threatened to use the permitting process to tie up the project in red tape if the upper level of government tries to push it through against B.C.'s wishes.
The federal government's chief minister for B.C., James Moore, told media that his government would not attempt to push through the pipeline over B.C. government objections.
Monaco said June 5, after attending a NEB pipeline safety forum, that neither of those setbacks was a blow.
"As a matter of fact, I think the B.C. position is pretty much what they've stated, which is they want to see more information," he said.
"They're going to input their views to the joint-review panel process and, as I said before, we see it as a pretty good roadmap to get things done."
