The Kitselas First Nation has signed three pipeline deals with the province which will provide it with close to $1 million right away, additional payments which could amount to more than $4 million based on construction and a share of ongoing annual payments should natural gas ever start flowing through them.
The deals are tied to one pipeline, TransCanada’s Coastal GasLink which would serve the LNG Canada facility at Kitimat, and two pipelines destined for the Prince Rupert area – TransCanada’s Prince Rupert Gas Transmission to serve the Pacific NorthWest LNG plant on Lelu Island and Spectra’s Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission to serve Prince Rupert LNG, a BG Group project.
Dollar values of each deal, which are part of an overall provincial pipeline benefits program aimed at First Nations, are based on the number of kilometres a pipeline travels through a particular First Nation’s territory and other factors. The agreements are also meant to provide, says the province, the certainty needed in order for LNG developers to commit to construction.
For each of the three projects, in addition to upfront payments, the Kitselas are to receive payments based on construction – half when construction starts and half when a pipeline goes into operation.
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