The chief executive of Enbridge Inc. confirmed Thursday a major Chinese oil company is backing its controversial oil pipeline between Alberta and the West Coast.
Sinopec is among producers and refiners that have together matched Enbridge's $100 million early-stage investment in the Northern Gateway proposal, Pat Daniel told a CIBC investment conference in Whistler, B.C.
"That speaks to the level of commitment that they've got, in that they're investing upfront," he said.
Sinopec, one of many Asian players to invest in the oilsands over the past few years, is the only Northern Gateway backer to be publicly identified so far.
The $5.5-billion Northern Gateway proposal has been dogged by vehement opposition from First Nations communities along the route and near the coast, as well as from environmentalists.
The groups worry a spill could damage the rivers and lakes the pipeline would traverse and that tanker traffic along the B.C. coast will harm that fragile ecosystem.
Northern Gateway would consist of two parallel lines. One would ship oilsands crude to the Pacific coast, where it would be loaded on to tankers and sold overseas. The other would bring imported light crude inland to Alberta, to be used to dilute thick oilsands bitumen and enable it to flow more easily in a pipeline.
The ability to reach energy-hungry Asian markets would add $2 or $3 to the value of each barrel of oilsands bitumen, bolstering the bottom lines of Alberta producers, Daniel said.
"And that's because it puts producers in a position where they can negotiate with downstream refiners and say, 'You know what? I'm shipping off the West Coast for this month,'" he said.
"That's huge for the Alberta government in terms of royalty revenue. It's huge for all producers in Western Canada."
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Barryeng
1 year ago
Huge?
"That's huge for the Alberta government in terms of royalty revenue. It's huge for all producers in Western Canada."
It's also huge for China's oil producers.
The trouble is the only "huge" for BC is the potential for disaster!
Fiat lux
1 year ago
This is great!!!!! They're
This is great!!!!! They're bringing back our own money as "wealth creating foreign investment" to buy up our resources and country with.
What our highly intelligent, so called "economists" and bought politicians haven't been able to figure out is that all forms of investments are basically loans the public has to pay for with resources, or labour, and that foreign investment is the sale of the country, because when you have resources, you have money and don't need anybody else's.
Ed Deak.
Francis
1 year ago
Mr Deak
No offense sir, but while you are insisting on what is not going to happen you are letting them away with addressing real issues.
But even if no pipeline is pushed through to the coast then it runs south in a pipeline. Canada will become even more captive of the American market and needs. They have the refining capacity to take all we can pump. So when you complain about the lack of real benefits to Canada arising you have limited that opportunity.
The Liberals and NDP are not calling for the shutdown of the oil production in Alberta, they are only insisting it not be shipped to the coast.
This is an incredible position to take.
Personally I think we need to refine the bitumen here and ship a more refined product.
Its hilarious that all those that say they care about our planet are so far out there they will be ignored and achieve nothing.