British Columbia delegation visits Gulf of Mexico operations

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Government, community and aboriginal leaders from British Columbia extended their offshore oil and gas fact-finding search to the Gulf of Mexico.

A 10-member delegation spent four days in Alabama and Texas, visiting a rig and meeting with government regulators as the province continues its campaign to lift a 30-year ban on offshore exploration and achieve commercial development by 2010.

Energy Minister Richard Neufeld told a conference call May 7 that it was a chance for people from the British Columbia coast to see a functioning offshore industry and “be able to ask their own questions.”

The government funded trip included the mayors of Prince Rupert and Masset and aboriginal representatives from northwestern British Columbia and northern Vancouver Island.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herbert Pond said the industry in the Gulf of Mexico had been “very open” in discussing its problems. “Nobody is hiding anything,” he said.

The delegation did not include any representatives from environmental groups or the Haida Nation in the Queen Charlottes who oppose development of the offshore, fearing the ecological damage that could result from severe storms in the region.

Impressed by technological advances that limit environmental damage, Theresa Ryan, of the Tsimshian Tribal Council of northwestern British Columbia, said there appeared to be zero tolerance for pollution in the Gulf.