First Nation protest impacts oil company stock

Objections from the Fort McKay First Nation over Athabasca Oil Corporation’s Dover oilsands project caused stock to fall for the company in the first quarter of the year. The Energy Resources Conservation Board still has to render its decision on the project. “I remain confident that Dover will receive regulatory approval for development later this year,” Athabasca chief executive Sveinung Svarte said on a conference call with analysts to discuss first-quarter results. Fort McKay First Nation is asking for a buffer zone around the project. Svarte said such a buffer zone would set a precedent for other development and could potentially affect many future oilsands projects.