[IPSM] Dene Tha case; Imperial still crying wolf

[Macdonald Stainsby]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:     [Redwire] Dene Tha case; Imperial still crying wolf
  Date:     Thu, 04 May 2006 19:24:06 -0700 From:     Melina ****


this is a huge issue that is gonna effect enough ndns in the north from 
alberta to haida gwaii - we need to know. gotta speak out. the mackenzie 
pipelines is going to be a destructive project that will ruin alot of 
traditional territories....

if anyone is interested in getting involved to support direct action 
campaigns. let me know...

Melina




*First Nation hopes to block pipeline project  * CBC News – Last updated 
May 2 2006 09:29 AM MDT

A small First Nation in Alberta is going to federal court with hopes of 
blocking one of the biggest energy projects in Alberta's history – the 
giant Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

The $7 billion project will tap Canada's Beaufort Sea gas reserves into 
the North American system with a pipeline over 1,200 km long.

For years, the Dene Tha' have complained about the effects of oil and 
gas development on land they consider their traditional territory in the 
northwest corner of Alberta. They're worried that the Mackenzie Valley 
gas pipeline development will ruin their way of life.

The band claims they've never benefited from the energy revenues.

So they've decided to take their case to federal court to stop the 
project, arguing that they were not properly consulted about the pipeline.

Elders and longtime trappers like Alex Mercredi complain that there are 
fewer animals to catch for food and for fur. He believes the more than 
350 oil wells in the area have already damaged the environment, and he's 
worried the pipeline will make things worse.

"Once it goes through, our livelihood is gone," Mercredi said. "We won't 
be able to live off [the] land, we won't be able to trap, we won't be 
able to hunt."

The Dene Tha' say they weren't officially told about the Mackenzie 
Valley pipeline until January of last year, long after plans had been in 
place. By going to court, they're hoping for a full consultation of what 
the project will mean for their land.

Chances of blocking project remote

Band Chief James Ahnassay says the pipeline will take a 100-metre swath 
of land. "If you look at northwestern Alberta, it's criss-crossed with 
seismic lines, pipelines, roads, [and] there are many oil and gas 
leases," Ahnassay told CBC News. "So the destruction has taken place 
already."

The Dene Tha' will be in court in June, although Ahnassay admits it 
would be a miracle if the First Nation of 2,500 people blocked the giant 
pipeline project. If they fail to stop the project, the Dene Tha' will 
get a chance to make their point in public hearings scheduled for this 
summer.

If the pipeline does go ahead, the Dene Tha' hope energy companies will 
hire some of their band members and provide trades training for those 
who want to work on the project.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Soaring costs could make MacKenzie pipeline uneconomic: Imperial Oil 
boss /17:53:45 EDT May 2, 2006/


/JUDY MONCHUK /


CALGARY (CP) - Escalating costs on the proposed MacKenzie Valley 
pipeline could make the natural gas project uneconomic, Imperial Oil 
(TSX:IMO) president Tim Hearn said Tuesday.

"I don't think we're anywhere close to pulling the plug," Hearn said 
after Canada's largest energy company held its first shareholders 
meeting since relocating from Toronto.

But Hearn said the proposed pipeline is already projected to cost $7.5 
billion and that number is expected to rise substantially amid a labour 
crunch in Alberta and the North which has seen cost outlooks soar on 
energy megaprojects.

Hearn and other executives have been raising the alarm bells for months 
that a shortage of skilled workers, combined with spiralling equipment 
and material costs, will harm the prospects of more development.

"We can't push billions beyond $7.5 (billion) or I think we'll have some 
pretty difficult decisions to make," he said.

Imperial officials are putting together a cost report forecast that is 
expected later this year.

Earlier Tuesday, shareholders approved a three-for-one stock split in 
common shares after Imperial reported first-quarter earnings of $591 
million US - up 50 per cent from a year earlier. The jump came from high 
fuel prices and refining profits.

Hearn says Imperial's Syncrude operations in Fort McMurray, Alta., were 
hampered by maintenance issues and were the only part of the portfolio 
to underperform.

Net income for the quarter ended March 31 amounted to $1.78 a share, 
compared with $393 million US or $1.12 per share a year ago.

In February, Imperial reported record annual earnings of $2.6 billion 
and analysts view the company as the most profitable in the Canadian 
oilpatch.

Yet despite the dizzying numbers, Hearn stressed that projects like the 
MacKenzie pipeline must be viable to go forward. The company is 
committed to delivering long-term growth, but not at any price.

"We're under cost pressures like everybody else," said Hearn. "At what 
level does it have to get to become economic? I don't have that number."

Development plans for the $6.5-billion Kearl oilsands mine near 
Athabasca, a joint venture with ExxonMobil Canada, are designed to take 
advantage of Imperial's integrated operations and ease some of the 
financial burden.

"We're trying to mitigate some of the extraordinary cost pressures that 
are prevailing in our province," said Hearn.

"That's why we submitted a mine-only plan, then we can take the first 
phase of production from the mine and upgrade it in some of our existing 
refineries as opposed to building a new upgrader in Fort McMurray."

Imperial sees years of opportunity in Alberta to develop the oilsands 
and a "manageable pace of development."

"We just don't have an accordian population that we can expand by three 
times to do every project that's been announced or contemplated in our 
province," said Hearn.

But the problem of getting enough qualified human resources to develop 
energy projects is an issue around the world, he added.

With gasoline prices expected to soar this summer, Hearn also expects 
Canadian energy companies will get a share of the outrage vented against 
oil companies in the United States which are reporting huge profits. But 
he notes that the Americans are in the middle of mid-term elections and 
that is likely playing a part.

"The amount of rhetoric that's going on is probably amplified a little 
beyond reason," he said, adding it's unrealistic to expect the U.S. to 
become energy self-sufficient and less reliant on volatile oil prices in 
the short term.

"They are part of the world system and there is a reality to that, " 
said Hearn. "There has been a reluctance clearly politically to deal 
with it in those terms."

Canadians, living in a energy producing nation, have a better 
understanding of the market realities, he said.

Hearn said more than 20 studies in Canada have shown oil companies 
haven't been gouging consumers, but that doesn't make anyone feel any 
better when it costs $70 to fill up a tank of gas.

Imperial Oil, part of the ExxonMobil family, is one of Canada's largest 
producers of crude oil and natural gas and also the country's largest 
refiner and marketer of petroleum products.

They are sold primarily under the Esso and Mobil brand names through a 
coast-to-coast supply network that includes close to 2,000 retail outlets.

*© The Canadian Press, 2006*
-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
http://independentmedia.ca/survivingcanada
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope
    --Bertholt Brecht.