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Northern
Volume 58 No. 05
New regs for LNG Cameron Orr and Tom Fletcher A new set of regulations aims to soothe the uncertainty regarding regulations as they apply to reserve lands, at least on Haisla territory. The federal government announced last week the Haisla Nation Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Regulations, which came into being through the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act. That Act was designed to set a framework to fill in regulatory gaps to move forward economic development on reserves. From a report published in the Government of Canada’s Canada Gazette, the existing gaps in regulations meant that the proposed Kitimat LNG project — a joint venture between Chevron Canada and Apache Canada — likely could not proceed. “The project can only proceed if the facility is located in the desired…Bees Indian Reserve No. 6,” said the report. “In the absence of an adequate federal regulatory regime to ensure environmental protection, health and safety, and investor certainty, the proposed liquefied natural gas project could not feasibly proceed on.” The same report notes that the provinces have extensive regulations regarding these types of developments. However there were uncertainties on whether those same regulations apply on First Nation reserve land, as the federal government is the body which has authority in relation to reserves. The regulations established in this new document for the most part mirror what is already established provincially in B.C. The goals of these regulations are reportedly to allow environmental impacts from Kitimat LNG to be effectively managed, address legislative and regulatory barriers to economic development in First Nations communities and to provide certainty for investor, developers and the public. “This has been a long process, but everyone’s delighted,” Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said in an interview from Vancouver after the announcement. “There have been no delays to the actual project, because they’ve been operating under some interim agreements with the province in terms of permitting.” The B.C. government passed similar legislation last spring, to govern the Kitimat LNG project and a four-tower condominium commercial development proposed for the Squamish Nation reserve in West Vancouver. Without such changes, provincial building codes and environmental laws for burning, emissions and water and land use do not apply to reserves. Continued on page 2
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Wednesday, January 30, 2013
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Olivia Fernandes with Levi Gardiner. Inspired by the support Levi’s family has received through Variety —The Children’s Charity, Olivia asked for donations to the charity rather than presents for her sixth birthday party at Riverlodge. More on page 5.
BC LNG gets gas buyer The BC LNG Export Co-Operative is racing to be Canada’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter and the signing of some recent deals pushes them further. The Co-Op, which stands behind the Douglas Channel Energy Partnership proposal, announced a contract award for LNG purchase and off-take. The award went to Golar LNG Limited and LNG Partners, LLC. LNG Partners, LLC also got the contract award for feed gas supply. LNG Partners are set to work with Tenaska Marketing Canada, a division of TMV Corporation, to procure and manage the natural gas supply. Golar LNG Limited and LNG Partners LLC are working towards finalizing a financing package for the project that would provide for construction and commissioning of initial facilities, subject to receipt of final required permits.
Golar LNG confirmed the news through a press release of their own, They add in their own release that their participation in the project, and their commitment to LNG off-take is subject to “the Company reaching an agreement with the current proponents of the [Douglas Channel Energy project] for financing of the facilities,” as well as receipt of all permits required for the project to proceed. BC LNG already has a 20 year export licence from the National Energy Board. The Co-op’s LNG Project is being jointly developed by the Haisla Nation and Douglas Channel Gas Services Ltd. and is expected to be Canada’s first operational LNG export project. It will be a barge-based liqeufaction facility just offshore from their facility along the Douglas Channel. The natural gas will be supplied A map from the Douglas Channel Energy by the existing Pacific Northern Gas website showing approximately where they propose to develop. pipeline system.
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Investment website wins award ... page 6