|
Fourth explosion targets EnCana in B.C.
Gary Park For Petroleum News
For the fourth time in three months EnCana’s natural gas operations in northern British Columbia have been the target of what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police believe have been “deliberate” explosions.
On Jan. 4 gas line workers found a partially destroyed metering shed at a wellhead site southeast of Dawson Creek near the British Columbia-Alberta border.
During October, pipelines were damaged in separate blasts and an explosion at a wellhead caused a leak.
EnCana spokesman Alan Boras told reporters the company is concerned about the safety of its workers and the people who live in the area where it operates.
He said EnCana has stepped up its security measures and is asking the public to help the police determine who is responsible. To that end it has established a dedicated telephone line, allowing those responsible to discuss their concerns.
A spokesman for the RCMP said “literally hundreds” of people have been questioned and a door-to-door canvas has been conducted in the area, but “we still don’t have a prime suspect.”
He said the latest explosion was closer to the nearest house than any of the previous incidents, adding “we believe they are becoming increasingly violent.”
Rapid production expansion The worries are heightened by the rapid expansion of gas production in northeastern British Columbia, where 4,000 wells are on line.
Paul Joosse, an ecoterrorism expert at the University of Alberta, told the Calgary Herald that the perpetrator is clearly an “amateur,” but shows a level of determination despite a lack of technical ability.
He said it was difficult to say whether the attacks are the work of an individual or a “small, tightly knit group.”
Joosse said a blockade against oil and gas vehicles in the area last summer was a sign of “widespread community support for civil disobedience and a widespread sentiment of frustration” by residents upset over the industry’s impact on their land.
In the 1990s, Alberta farmer Weibo Ludwig spent almost two years in jail on charges related to bombings and vandalism directed at the petroleum industry he accused of hurting his family, livestock and land.
The RCMP said they have spoken to Ludwig as part of their British Columbia investigation, but do not consider him a suspect.
| 