Probabilistic estimates of hydrocarbons in the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea regions project that there are natural gas reserves of 1.9 trillion cubic metres (67×10^12 cu ft).
[1] After many delays, the project was officially abandoned in 2017 by the main investment partners citing natural gas prices and the long regulatory process.
Berger stated that a pipeline should be postponed for 10 years, estimating that it would take this long for land claims to be settled and for First Peoples to be ready for the impact of such a project.
When the Liberal government was re-elected in 1980, it approved construction of an oil pipeline from Norman Wells to Zama, Alberta, through Dehcho territory where land claims have yet to be settled.
The Canadian government sold mineral claim rights, leading to C$400 million in bids and over C$1 billion in work commitments.
These negotiations proved successful in October 2001, when ConocoPhillips, Shell, ExxonMobil, and Imperial Oil signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Aboriginal Pipeline Group.
[2] Despite the fact that a consortium of companies had permits that allowed them to build until 2022,[7] due to a combination of factors such as the growing extraction of cheaper natural gas sources in North America and the regulatory approval far outpacing the expected timeline, the joint-venture partnership led by Imperial Oil announced the abandonment of the project in 2017.
[11] 2010, and also 2014 at the earliest, are current production and start-up milestones published for printed newsletters and on-line webpage articles of the pipeline project.
[15] The Sierra Club of Canada opposed the pipeline due to its perceived environmental impacts such as fragment intact of boreal forests along the Mackenzie River and damage of habitat for species such as Woodland Caribou and Grizzly bear.
In light of Canadian and U.S. policies aimed at shifting to cleaner fuel sources and reducing reliance on oil imported from overseas, it is anticipated that North American natural gas demand will steadily grow in the future.