THE much-discussed $3.7-billion Arctic gas development in Canada took a major step forward recently when oil firms and a native group finalized a funding deal that brings TransCanada Pipelines Ltd into the partnership. Imperial Oil Ltd, which leads the industry consortium, said TransCanada will lend the Aboriginal Pipeline Group funds for its one-third share of costs of building a pipeline along the Mackenzie River Valley of the Northwest Territories into Alberta. In exchange, TransCanada will participate in developing the line, and the gas-producer group will transfer 5% of its ownership to TransCanada. Imperial is also reported to have said the group was in the process of filing a preliminary information package with regulators as a precursor to a full-blown project application.
Meanwhile, in the US, te House of Representatives has passed an energy bill that contains provisions to support the construction of a natural gas pipeline that would extend some 4,800km from the North Slope of Alaska to the lower 48 states.
