Part 4 - All the King's Men - Danny Williams

This story starts with a guy named Tom Tatham. You probably haven't heard of him before. He's an American business man who, back in the late 1990's, came to the conclusion he wanted in on the natural gas scene on the east coast of Canada. Tatham created two companies in late 1997 to accomplish the task: Tatham Offshore Canada Limited, a Massachusetts registered corporation; and North Atlantic Pipeline Partners (NAPP), a Delaware registered corporation. The board of directors of NAPP included a number of Newfoundlanders: Danny Williams; Craig Dobbin; Angus Bruneau; and Cabot Martin. Tatham's first goal was to secure the natural gas resources off Sable Island, that could hook up to a pipeline from the Grand Banks. However, NAPP was too late getting in, and the federal government would not consider his application.

Tatham and company changed strategies, and decided to focus on the natural gas off Newfoundland, and to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Placentia Bay. On April 17, 2001, Newfoundland LNG Company Inc. was incorporated in the province. It's name changed again in 2005 to simply Newfoundland LNG Ltd. The group became very involved in the province. The battle lines were drawn roughly between the then Mayor of St. John's Andy Wells (along with his group known as "The Friends of Gas Offshore" - of which Newfoundland LNG was one) and the oil companies. Wells, NAPP and company wanted a fixed offshore platform for the White Rose oil development. That would enable extraction of natural gas by concrete pipe to an onshore LNG plant - owned by Tatham's Newfoundland LNG of course. The oil companies argued the most efficient platform was a floating platform - which would finish off the chance of piping natural gas to an LNG plant. Newfoundland LNG dumped just over $4,800.00 in political donations to the then in power Liberals, but the oil companies got there way, and Newfoundland LNG was left holding the bag.

While all this drama was unfolding, Danny Williams, former director of Newfoundland LNG, took over as leader of the PCs and leadership of the Official Opposition. Neither Tatham or Newfoundland LNG donated any more money to the Liberals after 2002. In 2003

Williams won the provincial election, and began rewriting the province's energy priorities. Next up for Williams was fighting with the oil companies over the Hebron offshore field. While that battle was going on, Newfoundland LNG had secured two important partners for its proposed LNG facility in Newfoundland. SNC Lavalin/ BAE Newplan Group became invested in the project as project managers and engineers, while Stantec-owned Jacques Whitford was secured as environmental consultants to guide the project through Newfoundland and Labrador's environmental process.

Moving along side Newfoundland LNG's project for Placentia Bay was another big hitter project - the Newfoundland and Labrador Refining Corporation (NLRC) -  being advanced by Altius Minerals. NLRC also had SNC Lavalin/BAE Newplan Group as its engineering and project management company, and it was aiming to be built in Placentia Bay as well.

In 2006, Newfoundland LNG and Tatham started donating to political parties again. Newfoundland LNG donated $4,800.00 between 2006-2007, and Tom Tatham himself wrote a cheque for $4,000.00 as well in 2007. This time all the donations went to the PC Party, with Tatham's own donation being to PC Party's reelection fund for the 2007 election. In addition, SNC Lavalin's BAE Newplan Group donated $23,750.00 to the PC's in the years 2006-2008, and Jacques Whitford donated $3,250.00. Here's the problem - Newfoundland LNG was undergoing an environmental review process of its LNG plant from November 23, 2006 to January 19, 2007. In other words, the company, the principal owner, the engineering company, and the environmental engineers were making political donations to the people who were in charge of the environmental review - the PC Party. Furthermore, as leader of the PC Party and Premier, Williams could hardly be accused of not knowing the players.

Coincidentally, the Newfoundland and Labrador Refining Corp started their environmental process on October 25, 2006, and ended it on May 2, 2008. An even bigger coincidence? SNC Lavalin started working with them in early 2006.

During this part of SNC's corporate history, LNG and refinery projects were its biggest money makers - whether in North America or the Middle East. It was during this time, and later, that SNC's Ben Aissa traveled the globe bribing officials for large government contracts. Ben Aissa was named as a director of a little known company in Newfoundland and Labrador called BAE-SNC Limited. It was essentially a shell company, with no apparent reason for existing. SNC claims he was only with the company as a director for about a year, and it was voluntarily dissolved on December 31, 2008. The question has always been why? Why was Aissa placed as a director of a shell company for one year, in Newfoundland and Labrador,  and then the company was struck completely from the records?

Williams had tried, during 2006, to force the oil companies to back a new refinery as part of the Hebron development project. They refused. In August, 2008, Williams caved on the refinery issue and signed Hebron. Two months later SNC sued the refining company and its shareholders. Two months after that Ben Aissa and the SNC shell company were struck from the record.

On May 14, 2009, SNC Lavalin bought Danny Williams' two offshore service companies: Spectrol Energy Services; and Williams' interest in Atlantic XL - while he was premier. Three weeks later, Newfoundland LNG President Mark Turner announced the LNG terminal project at Placentia Bay was dead in the water. Turner had hoped to buy the company off its American owner (Tom Tatham) and carry on, but that was a pipe dream - pardon the pun. Tatham had already moved his interest to the British Columbia coast, and was using one of his subsidiaries, Maverick LNG, and a ship bought to extract gas off Newfoundland, to try the same plan with natural gas in Kitimat, BC.

Was all of this business as usual in Newfoundland and Labrador? Was Williams' looking after our interests in the offshore negotiations, or was he looking after his and his friends? It's clear that if Williams' plan to build both a LNG facility and a refinery at Placentia Bay were successful, that SNC Lavalin would have struck the mother load here. Is that why Ben Aissa was named to that numbered company, and then vanished when the deals collapsed? Was buying Williams' two offshore service companies part of the deal? Was it acceptable for Williams to accept corporate donations from companies involved while they went through environmental screening by his government? Does any of it pass the smell test? Or, was it just a case of the King being the King.

UPDATE

Maverick LNG, the subsidiary of North Atlantic Pipeline Partners mentioned above also registered itself in Bermuda for unknown reasons. The company was struck from Bermuda's corporate Registry in July, 2011 for inactivity.

The War of the Pipelines: Russia vs US

The escalation of the Syrian conflict is about many things, but chemical warfare is not one of them. Primarily, the "proxy war" in Syria is about geo-economic control. Those that have, those that want to keep it, and those that want it. It's pretty much the same game that has played out through out history. The only real difference is the capacity of many sides to end humanity in the process - which makes the responsible use of the game's rules essential.

The Russians have the natural gas monopoly over Europe. They have a strategic and economic advantage they want to keep. It allows them to exercise extreme influence over countries that used to belong to the USSR or the Eastern Bloc - like Poland, the Ukraine and others. It gives them a strong hand in negotiating with other western European countries like Germany in particular. The Americans are in a different situation. Their geo-political interests are in weakening Russia and China's economic strength thereby maintaining their own international influence and control. They regularly "duke it out" in minor conflicts all over the world - most recently in Africa and of long standing the Middle East. Critically, in this international game of chess, they never make it between themselves - until now.

The region encompassing Syria, Iraq, and Turkey has historically been the land bridge between West and the East. That makes it strategically important to control, or at least deny to the other side. Qatar has a giant reserve of natural gas (at least 30 trillion cubic feet) that it wants to export by pipeline to Europe. The Saudi's want to do the same. In 2009 President Assad of Syria refused to sign a pipeline agreement to build a pipeline from Qatar to Turkey. Turkey's established goal is to be the centre of all pipelines between Europe and the Saudi area. Assad's established goal is the same for Syria. Assad is in control of Syria. Russia is in control of Assad. Russia doesn't want to lose control of the European gas market. It's using Assad to make sure any such proposal remains just that - a proposal. Instead, Assad signed onto an Iran, Iraq, Syria pipeline proposal. Iran is a minor natural gas producer and imports most of its gas from Russia. Such a pipeline then tends to be a regional pipeline that doesn't threaten Russia's position in Europe.

However, using that old slogan, it is not in the "national interests" of the US, or its Saudi allies, or even its Israeli allies, to allow this to happen. It’s also not in the interests of Russia, or its Iranian allies, or its Syrian allies to allow the Saudi-US challenge to be successful.

In fact it is so crucial to both the US, and some of its European and middle-eastern allies that an insurgency was propagated on Syria - to replace Assad's government. Here, so far, it has been Saudi Arabia vs. Iran as each camp’s local powers use their pawns to duke it out. Iran using its Shia alliances including the Alawites of Syria, Hezbollah of Lebanon, and Iranian forces. Saudi using its Sunni allies in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and even Lebanon. In addition, Saudi has brought in Al-Qaeda forces and even Chechens that it finances. To underscore that point, Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan met with President Putin. He used a carrot/stick approach with him. On the one hand he was willing to offer Russia $15 billion in military contracts, and a new partnership in natural gas exports. On the other hand he made it clear that the "new Syrian" government would be under Saudi control and he controlled the Chechens meaning he could create peace for the Russian Olympics – or presumably the reverse. Putin was naturally infuriated by the stick approach, and the challenge to Russian influence and control in Syria and the European market. He turned it down.

Now we are left with the inevitable result of this poke in the chest game - war or humiliation. There is no more middle ground. One superpower or the other is going to lose and the result will effect the world. Already we have seen the US bring massive naval and air assets into the region. Today it was reported the US Sixth Fleet carrier task force is moving in to join the five to six ships already there, not including subs. Britain and France also have large air and naval presences there. Now we learn Russia is sending 12 ships into the region to join the fleet already there, and today a spy ship was added to the number. That does not include the air assets of Saudi or Israel, nor does it include the ballistic missile forces of Iran or Syria.

The US build makes a mockery of the US position that they are simply going to launch 100-200 cruise missiles into Syria. Their missile frigates already in place could manage that. No, it appears the US is going in to take control of the situation by destroying Syria's air defence forces, bombing Syrian military units, imposing a no-fly zone, and changing the regime just like Libya. No question. Nowhere near the force built up is required for a limited strike. In the last several months the US has also placed Patriot anti-missile batteries surrounding Syria in Jordan, Israel, and Turkey. The mission, obviously pre-planned, is to control Syrian airspace and destroy the regime militarily. As the Saudi prince said, Saudi Arabia will control the new government in Syria, and it looks as though the Saudi armed and funded militants on the ground in Syria are meant to be that force.

All this may just make most in the West roll their eyes and say "oh the US is thumping out another dictator, and who cares?" This time is different though. This time Russia sees its vital interests not just being threatened, but actually in danger of being destroyed. That us why Russia's navy are stepping in, and that is why things have never been more dangerous. The proxy war has had its mask removed; the players are now facing each other in a fight that could be disastrous for the world. Neither is prepared to back down for the same reason - national interest. It's fashionable to say religions cause wars, but in reality it is "national interests" as defined by those that define. In this case the national interests are pipelines and control. The suffering of the Syrian people has absolutely nothing to do with it.