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British Columbia government may allow drilling Offshore oil and gas exploration near Queen Charlotte Islands has been banned since the 1970s; study results to be released this summer Gary Park PNA Canadian Correspondent
British Columbia will soon launch debate on the prospects of ending a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling near the Queen Charlotte Islands, says Energy Minister Dan Miller.
Within two months, he said, the findings of a consultation study will be released indicating whether the British Columbia government is prepared to take the controversial step of allowing exploration in the environmentally sensitive region.
Miller, who has favored ending the moratorium, said at the 16th World Petroleum Congress that “we’re testing the water with people who live in the region and the results are generally favorable. Even among (aboriginal people) there is an interest.”
He said some “soft” consultations have begun to determine if British Columbians have a “sense of confidence” that exploration and development could take place without harming the environment.
The 55 million acres of the Hecate basin have been off-limits since a federal moratorium in 1972 that was extended in 1989 after the Exxon Valdez disaster.
The offshore around the islands holds the promise of significant oil and gas deposits — 10 billion barrels of oil and 25 trillion cubic feet of gas according to a Geological Survey of Canada estimate — but must be approached “very carefully,” said Miller.
Pressure from communities for development Northern communities, hard hit by a slump in fishing, forestry and mining, have pressured the government to pursue other economic alternatives, with oil and gas at the top of their list.
Unresolved aboriginal land claims and environmental concerns stand in the way, although a conference last month of all parties suggested a possible two-year seismic program to determine the impact of oil and gas development on the ocean habitat.
The conference also proposed creating a 20 kilometre exclusion zone to minimize the potential impacts of drilling and creating a compensation program to pay for any damage from blowouts or other accidents.
Shell Canada and Petro-Canada hold leases in the Queen Charlottes area, but have declined to make a case for exploration until the B.C. and federal governments complete their review of the moratorium.
New onshore areas also may open Miller also announced that consultations will soon start on the Bowser and Nechako basins in the province’s northwestern and north-central regions.
He said a number of companies have already shown interest in exploring the heavily forested basins, shifting the province’s petroleum focus from the gas-prolific northeast which is part of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.
While it’s too soon to declare Bowser and Nechako open for drilling, the province has started talking with the area communities to ensure all the pieces are in place for exploration, he said.
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