Skeena - Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen says he would "be very, very surprised" to see plans by David Black to construct an oil refinery in the Kitimat-Terrace area come to fruition.

"It's another chapter in a story that is increasingly becoming more and more ridiculous. This wasn't in Enbridge's plans, it's not in China's plans, it's not in the Prime Minister's plans so I don't know where it came from...He's making an announcement with no money, no local support and no support from First Nations so it is very hard to take seriously," he said.

Black said he will use his own money to finance the proposal through the B.C. environmental assessment, which he expects to cost several million dollars. After that, he said investors would be needed to complete it, assuming both the refinery and the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline receive approval.

"There is a reason nobody is backing this...For a newspaper baron to say how the oil industry should be running when nobody in the oil industry is doing this themselves is ridiculous," added Cullen.

Cullen also said an oil refinery would change the whole discussion around the Enbridge project, as the application for the environmental assessment is for the shipment of raw oil and bitumen.

"This just makes the project look ridiculous and makes it look desperate," he added.

Shaun Thomas