Enbridge requests three-year extension for Northern Gateway permit
Enbridge Inc filed a request with Canada’s national energy regulator on Friday for an extension of its permit for the proposed Northern Gateway project to continue talks with communities in northwest British Columbia.
Enbridge, Canada’s largest pipeline company, said it had asked the National Energy Board for a three-year extension to allow for greater legal and regulatory certainty while discussions are held with native communities.
The permit is set to expire by the end of the year unless construction of the pipeline or the Kitimat terminal is started.
Canadian energy regulators approved the Northern Gateway pipeline, with more than 200 conditions, in 2013.
However, the project, which would take oil sands crude from near Edmonton, Alberta, to a deepwater port at Kitimat on British Columbia’s northern coast, has faced opposition from communities along the route.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month he still opposed the pipeline, but declined to speculate whether a changed route would work.
The slump in oil prices has hit Canada’s economy, especially in the province of Alberta, and has increased pressure from some quarters to get pipelines built.