The Mackenzie natural gas pipeline is "very actively progressing," though a $16.2-billion cost estimate remains loose and may yet be adjusted higher or lower, the chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp. said on Friday.
The project "has not been put on the shelf," Rex Tillerson told reporters after speaking about the challenge of global energy security at the Spruce Meadows round table, a blue chip gathering of international business leaders near Calgary.
"The regulatory approval process is likely to take about another year," he said. "We will get to the end of that and see what the outcome of the regulatory review process is, in terms of what conditions are imposed on that project in order for us to meet the requirements."
The assessment seemed a signal of optimism for the project that would carry Arctic gas from Inuvik to Alberta, relative to Mr. Tillerson's view of the project in the spring, when he questioned its economic viability after new cost estimates pegged the price tag at $16.2-billion, double the most recent tally.
Mr. Tillerson said such cost estimates were prepared as part of information required by regulators, and were an "extrapolation" based on cost increases seen elsewhere.
"At the end of the regulatory process, we are going to go back and see where we are from an economic viability standpoint," he said.
Costs could be higher or lower than $16.2-billion, he said. "People need to be careful when you start throwing numbers around as to what is the quality of the cost estimate. These costs were developed to work through the regulatory process. I wouldn't hang my hat on whether it's $16, or $14 or 20 billion. All I would say it's large, it's larger than we thought it was."
Mr. Tillerson said discussions with the federal government over fiscal terms for the project are continuing.
The project "has not been put on the shelf," Rex Tillerson told reporters after speaking about the challenge of global energy security at the Spruce Meadows round table, a blue chip gathering of international business leaders near Calgary.
"The regulatory approval process is likely to take about another year," he said. "We will get to the end of that and see what the outcome of the regulatory review process is, in terms of what conditions are imposed on that project in order for us to meet the requirements."
The assessment seemed a signal of optimism for the project that would carry Arctic gas from Inuvik to Alberta, relative to Mr. Tillerson's view of the project in the spring, when he questioned its economic viability after new cost estimates pegged the price tag at $16.2-billion, double the most recent tally.
Mr. Tillerson said such cost estimates were prepared as part of information required by regulators, and were an "extrapolation" based on cost increases seen elsewhere.
"At the end of the regulatory process, we are going to go back and see where we are from an economic viability standpoint," he said.
Costs could be higher or lower than $16.2-billion, he said. "People need to be careful when you start throwing numbers around as to what is the quality of the cost estimate. These costs were developed to work through the regulatory process. I wouldn't hang my hat on whether it's $16, or $14 or 20 billion. All I would say it's large, it's larger than we thought it was."
Mr. Tillerson said discussions with the federal government over fiscal terms for the project are continuing.
Via: Canada´s Financial Post / Claudia Cattaneo
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