Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ITI. I talked about, in my Member’s statement, the Sahtu’s potential for the oil and gas activity and billions of barrels that are on reserves and untapped in the Sahtu.
I want to ask the Minister of ITI if our assessments of the Sahtu Canol shale play is coming to fruition with the amount of activity going on in the Sahtu, and what is his department doing to deal with the impacts of that type of activity that could be happening in the next 25 or 30 years.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do hope the Member’s correct. I think the Canol shale oil play in the central Mackenzie is sustainable, a real development that could be taking place for generations in the Sahtu. We look forward to trying to manage this in the early stages.
Companies are there drilling, trying to get a better idea of what is in the ground. We understand there are, perhaps, billions of barrels of oil in the ground in the central Mackenzie, but companies have to find out what the rate of flow is on those wells. That work is continuing. There are more wells being drilled this winter.
Whether or not the commercialization of that oil play does get into production at some point in time, that remains to be seen. But certainly it has had a profound impact on the region and on the infrastructure and on the people in the region, and we’re watching it very closely. I know the Member and other Members were playing close attention to Minister Miltenberger’s budget address. We have answered the call as a government to the concerns that are apparent in the Sahtu, and we will continue to monitor that situation. Thank you.
According to some of the geologists and some of the preliminary work that’s been done in the Sahtu and the Sahtu Canol shale play, the similarities to the Sahtu Canol shale play is similar to the Bakken fields in North Dakota or Eagle Ford in Texas. The Bakken fields in North Dakota are estimated at about 20 billion barrels of oil. That’s a similar type of play that’s going to happen in the Sahtu, again, depending on more work that has to be done.
I want to ask the Minister, is his department looking at some special considerations in terms of the infrastructure for the Sahtu, if that type of activity is going to happen in the Sahtu. We just want to know when it’s going to happen.
Certainly, the word prolific comes to mind when you look at a play like the Bakken and the Eagle Ford in Texas, and what they’ve done to the economy in a place like North Dakota. Certainly, we could use that type of economic activity here in the Northwest Territories. Again, it’s activity that’s going to carry itself on for generations.
We continue to see and work with industry, see what industry is up to. We’ve had readiness sessions in the Sahtu. We’ve met with industry at any and every opportunity that I get as Minister. I know I’m the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, but I’m also the Minister of Transportation, and certainly, in discussion with industry, the talk of infrastructure certainly is at the top of the agenda. Any chance I get to talk about potential industry involvement in building infrastructure in the region and building the economy there, that’s front and centre and that will continue to be the case.
We have a number of other projects currently here in the Northwest Territories that we’re trying to move forward, and if we get to a stage where that shale oil can be developed commercially, that certainly is a big game changer, and I think then the talks will certainly ramp up on industry involvement in building infrastructure in the central Mackenzie.
It is our hope in the Sahtu and other communities around the Sahtu that are working in the Sahtu and want to see this oilfield possibly go to production and development stages.
I want to ask the Minister, has his department looked at other models in Canada, specifically the Voisey’s Bay model, where the federal government stepped in to help out those communities up in the Labrador area. Is that something that can be considered with the Sahtu should the proven resources be at a point where saying, yes, this oil’s got to go? It’s there for production and that’s something that this government can look at, looking at the Sahtu as a special economic zone.
I’m familiar with the situation in Voisey’s Bay, and it was ACOA, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, that set up a development zone in and around Voisey’s Bay.
Here in the Northwest Territories the landscape is going to change. We’re advancing talks on devolution. Eventually, the Northwest Territories government would be able to make a determination like that. Currently, discussions would have to take place with the federal government on a special economic zone through, perhaps, CanNor. Those are discussions that could take place.
I know the issue was raised, certainly with the leadership in the Sahtu, and through our Economic Opportunities Strategy that we’re moving forward, we believe there perhaps is some opportunity there to take a look at what is happening in the central Mackenzie and treat it accordingly.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister, due to the amount of winter road jamming of the semi-trucks, I want to ask the Minister, is he asking the GNWT Cabinet Ministers to look at some more investments into the Mackenzie Valley winter road, or even to looking at advancing the Mackenzie Valley Highway because of the potential that’s happening in the Sahtu.
Certainly, everybody was paying close attention to the weather conditions and the fact that there’s a lot of heavy equipment moving on the winter road in the Sahtu and down the Mackenzie Valley. Nothing says we need an all-weather road more than the activity that’s happening there. There were a couple of unfortunate incidents. The Department of Transportation has put a lot of time and effort into clearing those up, those situations up. We’ve taken some measures to get more highway patrol officers out there to ensure that equipment is moving in a coordinated fashion. We’re working with industry to see that happen.
But certainly, we have the beginnings of this Mackenzie Valley all-weather road in the Tuk-Inuvik highway. We’re anxious to see that project move forward. Again, if the commercialization of that Canol shale oil play is there and it can get into production, I think that changes a lot of things, and again, the discussion with industry will continue to happen.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
