Petronas-led Pacific NorthWest LNG has started test drilling off of Lelu Island, location of its proposed $11.4-billion liquefied natural gas terminal in northwest B.C., despite First Nation opposition.
Members of several First Nations — including the Lax Kw’alaams and the Gitxsan — appeared to stop drilling on the weekend, but the presence of Prince Rupert Port Authority boats has allowed the work to start, Lax Kw’alaams First Nation hereditary chief Don Wesley, also known as Sm’oogyet Yahaan, said Tuesday.
Port authority personnel told him to stay at least 50 metres away from a drilling rig when he approached with his boat, said Wesley, a hereditary chief of the Gitwilgyoots, one of the nine tribes of the Lower Skeena River region.