Mackenzie pipeline still on hold
By DAVE EBNER
Thursday, October 6, 2005 Posted at 4:39 PM EDT
Globe and Mail Update
theglobeandmail.com
The proposed $7-billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline doesn't yet make economic sense to bring to development, said Imperial Oil Ltd. chief executive officer Tim Hearn.
Mr. Hearn, speaking to reporters after a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, said Imperial won't proceed with the Northwest Territories project unless Ottawa agrees to amendments to the fiscal arrangements that would apply to the project.
However, he said Imperial was not asking for handouts.
Imperial has been pressing Ottawa for more financial incentives, even after the government said in the summer it is willing to pony up $500-million to get the stalled project moving. Imperial, majority owned by the world's biggest public oil company, Exxon Mobil Corp. of Irving, Tex., wants breaks on matters such as royalty payments. In April, Imperial halted most work on the pipeline, in part blaming what it called unreasonable demands from northerners for access to their land. |
