Media mogul David Black finds backers for new refinery
By Contributor
B.C. media mogul David Black says he is very close to inking a deal to build a massive new crude oil refinery in Kitimat.
Black made the announcement during a speaking engagement to business leaders at the B.C. Chamber of Commerce in Vancouver.
The newspaper publisher said he plans to sign a memorandum of understanding within a month with a major investment firm for the $25 billion project.
The plant, to be built north of Kitimat, would refine oil from the Alberta oilsands shipped either by pipeline or rail.
Black says he’s teamed with Oppenheimer Investments Group, a Switzerland-based firm, to raise the funds to proceed.
The original $13 billion price tag of the refinery itself has risen to $16 billion with the choice to implement new technologies to reduce greenhouse gases, and other costs with the project bring the total capital investment to $25 billion.
Black told the B.C. Chamber of Commerce the extra $3 billion cost for the refinery is due to plans to use a newly-patented “cleaner” approach to processing heavy oil.
Black’s project still faces many hurdles, including opposition from environmentalists.
But investors are lining up to be a part of this project.
