Canadian producers urge lifting offshore British Columbia drilling moratorium

Don Whiteley

Petroleum News contributing writer

It’s time to lift the moratorium on oil and gas drilling on Canada’s west coast, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said at an engineering conference in Vancouver June 21.

“We believe the moratorium is a public policy decision and we are looking for jurisdictional consistency across Canada,” association spokesman Rob Carss told a Vancouver conference on offshore mechanical and Arctic engineering. “Why should British Columbia be penalized and have a moratorium when the same activity is ongoing on the other coast of this country?” Despite its unique ecology and rugged coastline, British Columbia’s coast has no operational challenges that have not been successfully dealt with by the oil and gas industry in other parts of the world.

“It’s a heavily regulated industry that incorporates the best practices from around the world,” he said. “There is never a situation of zero risk, but we can lower the risk to as low as is reasonably practical.” Estimates of resource potential off the British Columbia coast vary widely, and are controversial. Natural gas resource potential is put as high as 25 trillion cubic feet, and oil potential is as high a 9 billion barrels.

The moratorium has been in place for nearly three decades, and lifting it is a highly-charged debate in British Columbia. Opponents warn of serious environmental risks, while proponents point to the economic benefits of developing a resource that is worth $110 billion by some estimates. Further complicating the issue are unresolved First Nations claims to title in the Queen Charlotte Islands and the surrounding waters.

Tsimshian Nation representative Theresa Ryan told the conference that First Nations’ people will insist on high standards for environmental protection, health and safety.

“The Tsimshian Nation will take zero tolerance for negative impacts, whether it’s environmental or social,” she said.

Even with the moratorium lifted, no drilling would likely take place before 2010, and assuming oil or gas reserves are found in commercial quantities, production would be unlikely before 2020.