Imperial suffers Kearl defeat
DAVID EBNER
From Thursday’s Globe and Mail
May 14, 2008 at 9:36 PM EDT
CALGARY — Multibillion-dollar oil sands projects will face new legal and regulatory hurdles after the Federal Court ruled against Imperial Oil Ltd. in its battle to keep the $8-billion Kearl oil sands mine on schedule.
Imperial went to court to win back a key permit for site preparation that was voided after a Federal Court found Kearl’s regulatory approval to be incomplete on the issue of greenhouse gases.
The loss will set back Kearl by at least several months, if not a year or more.
For the energy industry, the Federal Court decision means regulatory reviews are likely to become ever-more detailed and arduous, while legal challenges will become more common.
