(Adds quotes from company president and Natural Resources
Canada, adds details on ownership offers)
By Julie Gordon
VANCOUVER, May 6 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc ENB.TO filed a
request with Canada's energy regulator on Friday for an
extension of its permit for the proposed Northern Gateway crude
oil pipeline project that would allow talks to continue with
communities in northwest British Columbia.
Enbridge, Canada's largest pipeline company, said it had
asked the National Energy Board (NEB) for a three-year extension
to allow for greater legal and regulatory certainty while
discussions are held with aboriginal communities.
The company also said it would reduce its own stake in the
project to boost potential ownership by First Nation and Metis
partners from 10 percent to 33 percent, and pledged to give
aboriginal owners an equal voice on project governance.
"From the beginning, Northern Gateway should have done a
better job of building relationships with First Nations and
Metis communities, particularly on the west coast of British
Columbia," said project president John Carruthers in a
statement.
Canada's previous government approved Northern Gateway in
2013, imposing more than 200 conditions on its construction. But
the plan has faced fierce opposition from environmentalists,
aboriginal groups and communities along the pipeline route.
Numerous groups filed legal challenges to stall the project,
which would carry oil sands crude from Alberta to a deepwater
port in Kitimat, on British Columbia's Pacific coast.
The permit, meanwhile, is set to expire by the end of the
year unless construction of the pipeline or the export terminal
is started.
If the NEB grants the extension, it will have to be approved
by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet.
In April, Trudeau said he still opposed the pipeline, but
declined to speculate whether a changed route would work.
Alexandre Deslongchamps, a spokesman for Canada's Natural
Resources minister, said that all resource projects must be
environmentally sustainable and noted the government was
committed to regaining public trust on project reviews.
The slump in oil prices has hit Canada's economy, especially
in the province of Alberta, and has increased pressure from some
quarters to get pipelines built.
Enbridge shares closed up 37 Canadian cents at C$50.69 on
the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.