The Aboriginal Pipeline Group (APG), which hopes to gain a one-third stake in the proposed $2.5-billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline, has asked for a $45-million guarantee, but Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal is reported to have said that the Ottawa government was not prepared to finance energy investments: “There are other proposals that I'm aware of. The APG could fund this through buying a share once the project is completed, and it would therefore be easier for it to get private funding.” Such a deal would depend on whether the energy company consortium planning the line, led by Imperial Oil Ltd, chooses to build it alone or have a major pipeline firm construct it, he said. The issue has arisen as a competing pipeline proposal to exploit the huge gas reserves in neighbouring Alaska stalled after a US energy bill, which may have included subsidies for the much bigger development, was postponed. Earlier in November, US Senate negotiators decided there was not enough time to wrap up the sweeping bill in the current congressional session, and put it off until next year. Dhaliwal has often argued that he opposed subsidies for an Alaska Highway pipeline, giving him little room for negotiation when it comes to the Mackenzie Valley proposal, which Imperial said may now be bigger than first envisioned after strong demand from potential shippers. Other companies involved in the project proposal are Shell Canada Ltd, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil. The pipeline would extend into Alberta from the Mackenzie Delta, where the firms hope to unlock huge gas reserves they first discovered in the 1970s. The partners originally said it would ship 800MM to 1.2Bcuft/d to Canadian and US markets sometime after 2007, but an Imperial spokesman said capacity may increase to as much as 1.9Bcuft/d due to demand shown in a recent call for expressions of interest.