A Canadian panel assessing the socioeconomic and environmental impact of a proposed CAD16.2 billion natural gas pipeline in northern Canada has conditionally recommended approval of the project. The opinion of the joint federal and provincial panel, which comes after more than two years of deliberations, is crucial to a decision by the country’s National Energy Board as to whether the 1200km pipeline project can go ahead. The pipeline is expected to carry up to 1.9 billion cu/ft a day of natural gas from the Mackenzie Delta in the Canadian Arctic to southern markets in Canada and the US. The Mackenzie Gas project is led by Imperial Oil Ltd. Imperial’s partners in the project are parent company ExxonMobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, ConocoPhillips and TransCanada Corp. on behalf of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group.