August 22, 2012

B.C. media mogul proposes $13 billion oil refinery

Media mogul David Black is proposing a $13 billion oil refinery for Kitimat, B.C., to process oil from the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline.

Black acknowledges he doesn’t yet have investors and hasn’t had buy-in from Enbridge, First Nations or the provincial government. He plans to pay for the environmental assessment, but says he wants investors to come together to pay for the refinery. Black, who owns several weekly newspapers in B.C. and Alberta and daily newspapers in Hawaii and Ohio, says the idea addresses concerns around oil tankers traversing the B.C. coast because refined fuel such as gasoline is easier to clean up.

He acknowledges there are serious concerns about the safety of laying the massive Northern Gateway pipeline across B.C., and says if those concerns aren’t addressed, the pipeline - and a refinery - likely won’t be built.

The proposed pipeline is planned to ship bitumen – a thick, black substance similar to oily asphalt – from Alberta to the B.C. coast for shipment to Asia.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2012

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