A program to train aboriginal people to build and operate the Pacific Trail natural gas pipeline has received a $1.5-million boost from companies behind the project.
Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership (PTP LP) vice president Terry Joubert presented Pacific Trail Pipelines Aboriginal Skills Employment Partnership (PTP ASEP) Training Society executive director Diane Collins with a cheque for the amount last week.
In 2010, the federal government put $9 million towards the program and by the time that contract ended two months ago, training and support for more than 800 clients had been provided, exceeding the original goal by about 200, Collins said.
Not to be confused with Enbridge's Northern Gateway proposal, the proposed Pacific Trails project would transport natural gas, as opposed to bitumen from the Alberta oil sands, 463-kilometres from Summit Lake, 55 kilometres north of Prince George, to the proposed Kitimat liquified natural gas facility on B.C.'s north coast.
Even if the Pacific Trail pipeline springs a leak, the natural gas will dissipate into the air rather than spill out onto the surrounding area, proponents stress.
The Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership is made up of the same three partners that comprise the Kitimat LNG project - Apache Canada Ltd., with 40 per cent ownership, and EOG Resources Inc. and Encana Corporation, each with a 30-per-cent stake.
Collins is hoping the $1.5 million can be used to lever more funding from the federal and provincial governments. As it stands, she said the new funding will be used to continue trades training, create a stronger relationship with the 15 First Nations communities along the project's length and build a database of clients and their skills.
In October 2011, the National Energy Board granted PTP LP a permit to export up to 10 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas over a 20-year period. Preliminary cost of the pipeline, combined with a liquified natural gas (LNG) plant at Kitimat, have been put at $5.5 billion
Some clearing and logging activity on the pipeline route is planned for early August until mid-November and a final investment decision by the partnership is expected to be made by the end of this year.
"We continue to make good progress on long-term gales sales agreements with potential Asia-Pacific customers, as finalizing those contracts is a key milestone we need to meet before proceeding to a final investment decision," Apache spokesperson Paul Wyke said Friday.
