|
Moratorium does not hold up to scientific scrutiny Panel of scientists says there is no reason to maintain offshore drilling moratorium Don Whiteley Petroleum News Contributing Writer
Oil and gas exploration off the West Coast of Canada is inching closer to reality in the wake of a Canadian government scientific report released Feb. 9.
A federal government panel of four scientists said there is no scientific reason to maintain a joint federal-provincial moratorium on offshore drilling, and that work could begin as soon as the necessary environmental assessments have been completed.
But the panel, working under the auspices of the Royal Society of Canada, said that drilling must be governed by strict regulations, First Nations claims must be settled, and a wide range of environmental and technical studies must be completed. But a green light for preliminary work “would enhance the opportunity for filling many of the science gaps through shared-cost partnerships involving industry participation,” the panel said. No production projected until 2020 With that in mind, the panel said it doubted that British Columbia would see any oil or gas production (assuming commercial quantities are discovered) until 2020 — 10 year later than British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell had predicted some months ago.
As is usually the case in British Columbia, the panel’s report was warmly received by the provincial government and industry representatives, panned by environmentalists opposed to any oil and gas activity offshore, and greeted with a mixed reaction from federal government ministers. While Federal Natural Resources Minister John Efford is an enthusiastic supporter of oil and gas activity, federal Environment Minister David Anderson is an equally enthusiastic opponent.
The panel suggested that, given all the studies still needed, initial seismic work would not likely proceed until 2008 at the earliest, with exploratory drilling getting under way no sooner than 2012. 1960s wells came up dry Resource estimates prepared by the Geological Survey of Canada some years ago put the petroleum resource potential in Hecate Strait at 9.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.3 billion barrels of oil — worth about C$110 billion. However, 18 wells drilled in the 1960s came up dry.
While industry has taken a “wait and see” attitude towards offshore drilling, the provincial government is pushing hard to get something moving. British Columbia Energy Ministry officials are already working on a set of regulations to govern both seismic and exploratory drilling.
British Columbia Deputy Energy Minister Jack Ebbels heads up an 11-member British Columbia Offshore Oil and Gas Team that is coordinating the effort. The team has a budget of C$5.8 million a year, and is examining what tax and royalty changes would be necessary to attract industry interest.
Another federal review panel, this one headed by former National Energy Board Chairman Roland Priddle, is about to begin deliberations on whether or not to lift the drilling moratorium, and a fourth panel has been established to look into First Nations claims. Both reports are expected by June this year. Leases still held in area Oil companies still holding exploration leases for offshore British Columbia (they were put in abeyance when the moratorium was imposed) include Petro-Canada, ChevronTexaco Corp., Shell Canada Ltd., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Canadian Forest Oil Ltd.
While industry has generally expressed support for governments lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling, no companies are banging on the province’s door to get started. The oil industry is instead concentrating on drilling in traditional areas in the northeast corner of the province, and has expressed interest in testing other onshore regions in British Columbia — particularly the Bowser and Nechako basins.
While all the attention has been focused on the waters between the Queen Charlotte Islands and the mainland, there are three other offshore basins that have been identified as having oil and gas potential.
The Winona and Tofino Basins, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, have an estimated resource potential of 9.4 trillion cubic feet of gas, while the Georgia Basin near Vancouver has an estimated resource potential of 6.5 tcf.
| 