In an eyebrow-raising move, Canadian community newspaper publisher David Black is proposing to build a $13 billion oil refinery near Kitimat in northwestern B.C.
The refinery will have the capacity to process all of the output of the planned Enbridge Inc. (TSX: T.ENB, Stock Forum) Northern Gateway pipeline, Black told reporters during a news conference in Vancouver Friday.
Black is the head of Black Press Group Ltd., a Victoria, B.C.-based publisher of a stable of community newspapers in Canada and the United States.
Black’s private company Kitimat Clean Ltd. is submitting an environmental assessment application to build the Kitimat refinery.
Black said the plant will process up to 550,000 barrels per day of dilbit (condensate diluent and Alberta oil sands bitumen). The diluent will be separated and returned to Edmonton via the proposed Enbridge secondary pipeline.
The plant will produce 240,000 barrels per day of diesel, 100,000 of gasoline and 50,000 of kerosene, or aviation fuel.
“We hope to begin construction in 2013 and conclude by 2020,’’ Black said.
Black went on to say that the proposed plant will be located at the 3,000-hectare Dubose location, which is 24 kilometres north of Kitimat and 25 kilometres south of Terrace. The Dubose site is Crown Land zoned for industrial use.
If and when they get built, the Enbridge pipelines are expected to run through the property.
During Friday’s press conference, Black described himself as a quiet environmentalist and a believer in putting back for the next generation.
Trading at $39.49 on Friday, Enbridge has a market cap of $31.5 billion, based on 796.9 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $42.23 and $30.17.