News Release Archive

NATURAL RESOURCES--PROVINCE TO INTERVENE IN HEARING PROCESS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Province of Nova Scotia will intervene in public hearings to 
examine the proposed Sable Offshore Energy Project and related
pipeline proposals, Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie
announced today.

"We have said all along, our role is to ensure that Nova Scotia
comes first and that our interests are protected," said Mrs.
Norrie. "Government's opportunity to state its position about the
various components of the project will be during the hearing
process."

The deadline to register as an intervenor with the review panel
is tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 9). Formal documentation must be
presented to the panel by March 7, 1997.

"We have formed an intervention team within government which will
define the provincial position on a number of issues and present
that position to the panel," said the minister. "The team will be
augmented by outside expertise; people who are knowledgable in
this sort of process, as well as this industry."

Two Nova Scotia firms have partnered with outside experience to
provide legal and technical advice to the provincial government.
Gardner Pinfold Consulting will work with Ziff Energy of Calgary
to provide technical assistance, while Sampson McDougall of
Sydney will work with Macleod Dixon of Calgary to provide the
necessary legal advice.

"When we issued the tender documents for the consulting services,
we required a substantial amount of local content in the work,"
Mrs. Norrie said. "For this reason, local firms have been able to
participate in this process, which has the added bonus of
ensuring expertise is developed and stays in Nova Scotia."

Public hearings to examine proposals for both the offshore
facilities and the onshore pipeline are expected to begin in
April, and will be held in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

-30-

Contact: Dianne Coish  902-424-4426

jlw                       Jan. 8, 1997 - 5 p.m.