04/19
For immediate release
24 November 2004

National Energy Board to hold public hearing on Mackenzie Gas Project application

CALGARY - The National Energy Board will hold a public hearing on five applications from Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited and other applicants for the Mackenzie Gas Project in Northern Canada.

The proponents of the Mackenzie Gas Project are Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited, Mackenzie Valley Aboriginal Pipeline Limited Partnership, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, ConocoPhillips Canada (North) Limited, ExxonMobil Canada Properties and Shell Canada Limited.

The hearing will obtain evidence, including traditional knowledge, and views of interested persons with respect to the Mackenzie Gas Project. The National Energy Board hearing process will be coordinated with the Environmental Impact Review of the Mackenzie Gas Project by the Joint Review Panel as set out in the Cooperation Plan for the Environmental Impact Assessment and Regulatory Review of a Northern Gas Pipeline Project through the Northwest Territories, dated June 2002.

Any person interested in participating in this proceeding should consult the Board's Hearing Order GH-1-2004 for further background and instructions. The Hearing Order is available on the Web site of the National Energy Board at www.neb-one.gc.ca and of the Northern Gas Project Secretariat at www.ngps.nt.ca. The Hearing Order will also be available at the Library of the National Energy Board in Calgary, as well as the Inuvik and Yellowknife offices of the Northern Gas Project Secretariat.

The deadline for filing applications for intervenor status to become a full participant in the hearing is 21 December 2004. The National Energy Board will announce at a later time the dates and locations of its public hearing.

The Mackenzie Gas Project includes a 1 220 kilometre (758 mile) pipeline to transport natural gas to a point of interconnection with the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. system in northern Alberta, a 480 kilometre (298 mile) pipeline to transport natural gas liquids to a point of interconnection with the Enbridge Pipelines (NW) Inc. Norman Wells Pipeline at Norman Wells, N.W.T., three onshore natural gas fields known as Taglu, Parsons Lake and Niglintgak, a gathering system to transport production from the three fields, and a processing facility in the Inuvik, N.W.T. area where natural gas liquids would be separated from the natural gas for shipping. Other related facilities include compressor stations at Little Chicago, Norman Wells, Blackwater River and Trail River N.W.T. and a heater station at Trout River, N.W.T.

The National Energy Board is an independent federal agency that regulates several aspects of Canada's energy industry. Its purpose is to promote safety, environmental protection and economic efficiency in the Canadian public interest within the mandate set by Parliament in the regulation of pipelines, energy development and trade.

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For further information:

Ross Hicks
Public Affairs Officer
Telephone: (403) 299-3930
Telecopier: (403) 292-5503

For a copy of:

• GH-1-2004 Hearing Order [PDF: 280 KB]

National Energy Board
publications@neb-one.gc.ca
Ground Floor
444 Seventh Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0X8
Telephone: (403) 299-3562
Telecopier: (403) 292-5576