Imperial Oil Loses Oil-Sands Water Permit, Globe and Mail Says
By Sean B. Pasternak
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The Canadian government revoked a water permit that is key to Imperial Oil Ltd.'s C$8 billion ($7.8 billion) Kearl oil-sands project, the Globe and Mail reported.
The permit, issued to Canada's largest oil company in February, was rendered invalid, according to a March 20 letter from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the newspaper said. The permit was revoked in part because of the project's impact on fish habitat, the paper said. The Calgary- based company has applied to overturn the decision and will have a court hearing in May.
The lost permit could result in a delay of at least a year, Imperial Oil said in an affidavit. The project was expected to begin producing 100,000 barrels of bitumen a day starting in 2011.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aHL16ut5nd7k&refer=c...
