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Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
April 2007

Vol. 12, No. 16 Week of April 22, 2007

New sour gas plan for Calgary area

Nexen is putting the future of sour gas development near Calgary’s city limits through a new test a year after Compton Petroleum bailed out of one plan, under a barrage of opposition from local government, health, environmental and community organizations.

Nexen, as operator with a 45 percent stake, has applied to Alberta’s energy regulator for approval to drill 15 sour gas wells northeast of Calgary, claiming it has a different proposal from that which dragged Compton through the longest, most hostile well license hearing in Alberta history.

The Nexen plan involves drilling vertical wells to depths of 7,800-8,450 feet over two years and building a pipeline to a gas plant on the city’s northern fringes. The level of hydrogen sulfide is estimated at a maximum 32 percent.

With a month left for opponents to file their objections no one has, which Nexen believes is the result of careful consultations with stakeholders and its record five years ago of gaining approval without going through a public hearing.

Nexen’s proposed drilling program is anticipated to yield about 60 billion cubic feet of raw gas over 20 to 25 years.

Each pad site will be completely drilled before equipment is moved, meaning only one emergency planning zone, affecting 500 to 600 residents, would have to be activated at any given time.

The company, based on 45 years’ experience in developing sour gas, has promised full back-up and redundant systems to ensure the wells are drilled and operated safely.

To date, the Calgary Health Region, one of the most outspoken critics of Compton’s plans, has remained neutral on the Nexen application.

—Gary Park






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