Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/661612
56 www.resourceworld.com A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 6 Pacific Future energy plans innovative bitumen project by Bruce Lantz In the neVeR-enDInG battle to get product to market against strident environmental concerns, Pacific Future energy Corp. (PFE) believes they've found a solution that works. They want to transport Alberta bitu- men in solid form, inside tank cars, along Canadian National Railway Co.'s existing lines and convert the very low flamability substance into diesel and gasoline at a refin- ery site north of Kitimat, BC that they say will be the world's greenest refinery. "We will be setting new standards for energy projects on the West Coast of Canada," said Jacques Benoit, the com- pany's Chief Operating Officer. "We will achieve near zero net carbon status. We will be co-creating this with First Nations and recognizing their rights and title. We will be helping Canada to get new markets for the fuels we will produce. We will cre- ate jobs and public revenues. And we will protect BC's coastal waters from big bitu- men and crude oil tankers." PFE, which wants to export refined petroleum products to Asia, and says, in their Product Description statement prepared for the BC Environmental Assessment Office and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, that the bitumen will be in a form that resembles peanut butter in a refrigerator. The substance, called 'neatbit', is ideal to transport by rail and poses much less risk to the environment than diluting the bitu- men into molasses-like 'dilbit'. Besides Benoit, the company's executive includes Chairman Samer Salameh, Chief Executive Officer Robert Delamar, Chief Strategy Officer Mark Marissen and Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Friesen. Other key figures include former international trade minister Stockwell Day and two promi- nent aboriginal advisers, Shawn Atleo and Ovide Mercredi. A-in-Chut Business Group, jointly owned by Atleo and Mike Bonshor, has formed a joint venture with snC-Lavalin [SNC-TSX] to become the refinery project's leading investors. PFE has selected an 850-hectare site on which to construct the US $11-billion bitu- men refinery, choosing the Dubose Flats location after eliminating other options near Prince Rupert. They will need to negotiate permission to use the Crown land midway between Terrace and Kitimat, which is under the legal jurisdiction of OIL & g A s