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Canada extends moratorium on oil exploration on Georges Bank U.S. moratorium previously extended to 2012; Canadian area contains best fishing, most attractive oil structures by The Associated Press
A moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the ecologically sensitive Georges Bank off Nova Scotia has been extended another 12 years.
The original moratorium, which came into effect in 1988, was to expire Jan. 1. But federal and provincial natural resources ministers said Dec. 22 that the ban was being extended to 2012.
Natural Resources Minister Gordon Balser of Nova Scotia said Georges Bank requires protection from oil and gas development.
“Georges Bank is unique and so was the action taken, but the growing interest in natural gas development requires a co-operative and respectful approach,” he said.
“The voice of traditional industries must be heard. We want to accommodate, not replace one industry for another.”
The ministers accepted the recommendation released in July by a Georges Bank review panel to extend the existing moratorium.
Seismic surveys feared harmful The panel said seismic surveys needed for oil and gas exploration could be harmful. Though information on such surveys is sparse, the report said “fish catchability can be affected (and) caution is called for.”
Derek Wells, spokesman for No Rigs 2000, a coalition against Georges Bank exploration, called the moratorium a good-news announcement for one of the world’s most productive fishing grounds.
“They certainly did pick up on the concerns of the fishing community,” Wells said from his office in Chester, Nova Scotia.
“The fishing community drew a line in the sand and said no.”
Jay Abbass of the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia said the ban sends a clear message to industry not to look at Georges Bank.
“The decision to institute a moratorium until 2012 really does foreclose upon efforts at mounting any seismic or exploratory activities,” he said.
The metro-based umbrella group represents companies involved in oil and gas work that had hoped exploration on the bank could soon begin.
Industry finds decision troubling David MacInnis, spokesman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, called the decision troubling.
“It sends a signal to industry ... (to) take their business elsewhere.”
MacInnis said the industry can operate on the bank without harming fish stocks.
The joint government review panel consulted with oil and gas industry representatives, fishermen, seafood producers, environmentalists and others before concluding the moratorium should be extended.
Its report did not specify how long the extension should last, leaving that decision up to the federal and provincial governments. The moratorium will be reviewed in 2010.
Five-sixths of the 185-mile-long bank is controlled by the United States. But Canada controls the bank’s northeast peak, which contains the best fishing grounds and most attractive petroleum structures.
Reserves of natural gas on Georges Bank are estimated at more than 5 trillion cubic feet.
Last year, U.S. President Bill Clinton extended his country’s moratorium to 2012.
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