Inuvialuit gas plant gets $100M loan from Canada Infrastructure Bank

The Canada Infrastructure Bank is loaning the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation $100 million to develop a natural gas well that is expected to provide the region with fossil fuel and synthetic diesel for more than 50 years. 

The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) unveiled its plan to develop the M-18 well south of Tuktoyaktuk back in 2020. The well had been drilled by Devon Energy and Petro-Canada in 2002 and was part of gas reserves in the Beaufort-Delta region left stranded when Esso and its partners abandoned their Mackenzie Valley Gas Project. 

According to an approval from the Canada Energy Regulator last spring, the Inuvialuit Energy Security Project will convert natural gas into compressed natural gas, propane and synthetic diesel for power and heating in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. 

Hillary Thatcher, who heads up Indigenous investments for the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), told CBC News that the Crown corporation's mandate is to "unstick" major investment projects that may be struggling to move ahead because of economic risks that deter private investors. 

"This one in particular, there wasn't a lot of private loans available at reasonable or affordable rates that could help move this project in a timely fashion," she said. 

That fact that it's a critical piece of infrastructure, that the project is led by Inuvialuit, and that it'll provide reliable electricity and heat for homes also factored into the investment decision, she said. 

Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson told CBC News the project is great for both his community and Tuktoyaktuk. It'll lead to more employment, and is touted for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well. 

It means the region won't need to ship fuel up from the south. 

"Trucking propane up the Dempster Highway has caused a lot of problems with road closures and the cost of all that trucking," said Clarkson. "I think a local source will be a win for everyone." 

CBC News reached out to Inuvialuit Regional Corporation chair Duane Smith multiple times for an interview about the investment. He did not make himself available.

A joint press release from the corporation and the CIB said the project is expected to cost $293 million in total, and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40,000 tonnes per year. Thatcher said the IRC is investing the rest of the money needed to make it happen. 

Thatcher said the fuel is expected to be sold to local businesses and will be sold to the Northwest Territories Power Corporation as well — which delivers power in the region. 

Early construction work — like building a 4.2-kilometre road and a bridge to the well — has already started. Thatcher said it'll take two years to build the plant, and that construction will start this summer. 

Once operational, Thatcher said the plant would create about 20 local jobs.