CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – A deal with a native chief that Enbridge Inc held up last week as an example of rising support of their planned oil pipeline to the Pacific appears to be unraveling as the community battles over who has the authority to negotiate.

Enbridge touted the Gitxsan agreement to take an equity stake in the Northern Gateway pipeline as the first public display of what it says is substantial support for the C$5.5 billion ($4.5 billion) project among British Columbia’s First Nations, the aboriginal groups whose traditional territories make up vast swaths of the province.

Enbridge signed the deal with Hereditary Chief Elmer Derrick, chief negotiator for the Gitxsan Treaty Society (GTS), an embattled organization that is facing a legal challenge to its authority from four of the five community bands that make up the first nation.

Some other hereditary chiefs, community members and the three clans that form the complex structure of Gitxsan First Nation oppose the deal and met on Monday to try to shut down the treaty office and fire Derrick and other staff.

“Many of the hereditary chiefs said that they had not been directly posed the question of ‘Do you want to sign this deal with Enbridge?’” said Doug Donaldson, who represents the region in the British Columbia legislature. “From a Gitxsan governance point of view, that’s not the way decisions are made, as far as not consulting everyone.”

Many first nations have voiced firm opposition to Northern Gateway, which would carry crude to the Pacific Coast, where it could be shipped to Asia on supertankers.

The line is supported by the Canadian energy sector and the Conservative federal government, who seek to diversify Canadian oil exports after Washington decided last month to delay approving the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Enbridge Inc expects to win support for its C$5.5 billion ($5.4 billion) Northern Gateway oil pipeline from a majority of native communities along the proposed route based on current negotiations, an executive said on Friday.

The company has signed deals with some aboriginal groups for an overall 10 percent equity stake in the project, which would carry oil sands-derived crude to the West Coast from Alberta, Enbridge Vice-President Janet Holder said during a conference call to discuss one agreement.

But she declined to say how many deals it has in hand, citing confidentiality agreements.

“Based upon current negotiations, we believe we have majority support from First Nations along the right-of-way,” Holder said during a conference call with media to discuss one chief’s decision to support the project, aimed at opening up Asian markets for Canadian oil producers.

The developments came one day after more than 60 aboriginal communities said they were uniting to oppose oil pipelines across the Pacific province of British Columbia as well as increased tanker traffic in coastal waters, citing fears of oil spills.

Also on Friday, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told Reuters he believed deals could be reached with native Canadians that would allow a pipeline to the coast, but conceded it would not be easy.

The industry is banking on a new pipeline to the coast to move crude produced in the vast Alberta tar sands markets in Asia as a way to lessen its dependence on the United States, which is now virtually its only export customer.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada believes the United States will ultimately approve TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which Washington put on hold last month for more than a year, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said on Friday.

Oliver said the project – which would carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to the Gulf of Mexico coast – still makes enormous economic sense for the United States.

“I think it will go through, but obviously later than we had hoped,” he told a Reuters editorial board in Toronto.

A recent decision by the state of Nebraska to back changes to the pipeline’s route was “a significant development”, he added.

Oliver’s comments were among the most bullish made by Canada’s Conservative government since Washington announced a decision on whether to approve the $7 billion pipeline would be delayed at least until early 2013, after the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

“This delay is not a happy event for us but we’re going to continue to talk about the advantages of the pipeline,” Oliver said.

Washington’s move followed protests by environmental campaigners and Hollywood celebrities, who say exploitation of the oil sands is causing a huge spike in the emission of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

By David Ljunggren and Jeffrey Jones

(Reuters) – Aboriginal groups in the Canadian Pacific province of British Columbia said on Thursday they had formed a united front to oppose all exports of crude oil from the Alberta tar sands through their territories.

The declaration is another political blow to the Canadian energy sector and Canada’s right-of-center Conservative government after Washington decided last month to delay approving a pipeline carrying oil sands crude to the Gulf Coast.

It adds to the uncertainty over Enbridge Inc’s planned C$5.5 billion Northern Gateway oil pipeline, which would move 525,000 barrels a day of tar sands-derived oil 1,177 km (731 miles) to the Pacific port of Kitimat, British Columbia.

Aboriginal groups, also known as First Nations, say they fear the consequences of a spill from the pipeline, which would pass through some of Canada’s most spectacular mountain landscape. They also oppose the idea of shipping oil from British Columbia ports.

“First Nations, whose unceded territory encompasses the entire coastline of British Columbia, have formed a united front, banning all exports of tar sands crude oil through their territories,” more than 60 aboriginal groups said in a statement.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the Northern Gateway – which would open up a new supply route to Asia – is important for Canada, especially after the United States delay to approval of TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline.

CALGARY, Alberta, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Enbridge Inc’s proposed C$5.5 billion ($5.3 billion) pipeline to British Columbia poses a raft of environmental risks, according to a new report that signals the project will become the next battleground over the future of Canada’s oil sands.

The study by a trio of environmental groups, released on Tuesday, comes on the heels of a U.S. decision to push back approval of TransCanada Corp’s Alberta-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline by more than a year.

The delay has led the Canada’s oil industry and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government to intensify their emphasis on exporting oil sands-derived crude to Asia.

The Enbridge project, known as the Northern Gateway pipeline, is the first attempt at doing that in scale.

But the new report – issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pembina Institute and Living Oceans Society - says the project would threaten native communities, the salmon fishery and wildlife habitat on the West Coast.

The report uses last year’s Enbridge pipeline rupture and oil spill in Michigan, and even the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, as examples of why governments and regulators should block the proposal to bisect the rugged Western Canadian province with steel pipe.

Northern Gateway would move 525,000 barrels of crude a day to the port of Kitimat, British Columbia, where it would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to Pacific Rim refiners. The project is a key part of the Conservative government’s plans for a National Energy Strategy.