Says it would be able to process all oil from planned Enbridge pipeline

KITIMAT (NEWS1130) - The owner of the Black Press publishing empire is proposing a $13-billion refinery in Kitimat to process oil from Alberta carried through the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

He has created a company, Kitimat Clean Ltd., that is making an environmental assessment application but he isn't saying if it has any financial backers.

Black estimates the refinery would be completed by 2020. He says a refinery would remove the threat of offshore pollution from a spill of heavy crude, adding transportation of refined fuels is safer, "A refinery removes any possible chance of an off shore spill of heavy crude oil."

He says a refinery would provide much more work than a pipeline.
    
Black plans to pay for the environmental assessment and hopes investors will pay for the project, but admits even partners within the pipeline plan don't like his idea.

"Most of the people in that partnership are not Enbridge, they are oil producers. Some of them have have been very clear with me, that they would much rather put in tankers, heavy crude oil tankers."

BC's Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, Pat Bell likes the proposal.

"We like the idea, it's going to be interesting to see what the general public dialogue is around this, but certainly I think creating jobs in British Columbia and adding value to raw oil is a good thing."

Energy Minister Rich Coleman says it needs to pass that environmental review but he looks forward to more details on Black's plan

"What is different here is Mr. Black is suggested, as we have, that we should add value to bitumen, we should try and find a way to refine and upgrade the product, primarily for domestic consumption."

NDP and environmental group not on board

NDP Energy Critic John Horgan says they don't support the refinery plan

"It would still require raw bitumen to be moved from Alberta to tidewater, there's no guarantee there would be any more safeguards in place for tanker traffic of refined product as there would be for bitumen."

Ben West with the Wilderness Committee, and says they are also against this proposal.

"If this is part of an overarching attempt to convince people to support the Enbridge pipeline, it is not going to succeed."

West says refineries still come with a lot of risk

"And health concerns as well. There may actually be even more concern from some people who don't want to live down-wind from a refinery. To me this is an attempt to re-reinvented the public relations campaign around that pipeline."

There will be argument made about jobs this will create but he says the same argument applies to what could be lost if we risk the beauty and reputation to our province.

Photo: An existing oil refinery in Alberta. Image by Darren Kirby.