Report says Northern Gateway pipeline unnecessary
Posted Dec 20, 2011 8:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A report commissioned by one of the most vocal opponents to the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline says the project between Alberta and the west coast isn’t necessary.
The report’s author David Hughes tells 660News, the need for the pipeline is based on the assumption that oilsands production is going to triple by 2035.
He says there’s ample pipeline capacity to handle oilsands production growth of 50 to 100 per cent over 2010 levels by 2025.
Hughes adds it reflects the current philosophy of the Alberta and Federal governments to liquidate the oil as fast as possible and what we really need is a national energy strategy and some longer term thinking about the future of energy in this country.
The ForestEthics report says Northern Gateway’s backer, Enbridge is basing its assumptions on an oilsands production growth rate that isn’t sustainable.
The environmental group plans to submit the report to a regulatory panel that’s reviewing Northern Gateway.
Last week, researchers at the U of C released a study with a much different point of view, that expanding pipeline capacity to international markets should be a national priority.
That report says allowing Canadian crude to access Asian markets via projects like Northern Gateway would help producers garner nearly 14 dollars more for each barrel of oil they produce by 2030.
