But it could still beat the Northern Gateway, and be politically more attractive.

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The Northern Gateway project actually involves the construction of two pipelines between Bruderheim, Alberta (about 60 kilometres northeast of Edmonton) to Kitimat, B.

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The plans for the Northern Gateway project have been drawn up by developer Praxis Real Estate Management (PREM) which says the site will "attract major inward investment" to the area over the next 10 years.

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On the other hand, an oil spill at a terminal along the pristine British Columbian coast - a scenario cited by opponents of the Northern Gateway project - would damage the employment prospects of local people in fishing and tourism.

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In the longer term, the project, named The Northern Gateway, will involve dredging a channel 14.5m deep a mile out to sea, to allow 300m long deep sea container vessels to dock at a new quayside, opening the North East up to new markets in the far east.

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Longer term limitations also depend upon whether pipeline projects that are located exclusively in Canada proceed (such as the proposed Northern Gateway, the Trans Mountain expansion, and the TransCanada proposal to ship crude oil east to Ontario on a converted natural gas pipeline).

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It is known as the "Northern Gateway", which Flintshire council's regeneration department describe as the county's main employment site for the next 15 years.

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Tribes in the north of British Columbia are threatening court action to block Northern Gateway, a planned oil pipeline.

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