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Gold/Mining/Energy : Canadian Oil & Gas Companies

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To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (6484)	6/3/1999 9:20:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) of 24907

The prospect of significant oil and gas discoveries on Canada's west coast has increased Financial Times, Friday June 4 By Scott Morrison in Toronto British Columbia may lift ban The prospect of significant oil and gas discoveries on Canada's west coast has increased after the government of British Columbia hired a consultant to undertake a two-month study on offshore exploration in the region. The announcement was the first sign the provincial government was willing to seriously consider lifting a 27-year-old moratorium on offshore exploration in a region. The west coast is believed to contain resources equivalent to about 50 per cent of Canada's known reserves of conventional crude oil, and about 60 per cent of the country's marketable natural gas reserves. The Geological Survey of Canada estimates that basins in the Pacific Margin contain resources equivalent to 2.9bn barrels of recoverable crude and about 39,000bn cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. The decision to hire a consultant followed lobbying by coastal interest groups which have argued that oil and gas exploration - and eventually production - would provide depressed areas north of Vancouver with a vehicle for economic renewal. The region has been hit by downturns in the forestry and fisheries industries in recent years. A government official said the consultancy would attempt to assess whether there was sufficient public support to lift the moratorium. "There is increasing pressure from the communities. They don't understand why we won't even look at it," the official said. The moratorium was imposed in 1972, mainly because of concerns that offshore oil exploration and production would damage the region's pristine and fragile environment. Chevron Canada Resources, Shell Canada and Petro-Canada have leases to explore 18m acres to the north and south of the Queen Charlotte Islands, an environmental jewel that is home to the Haida Indians. Environmentalists have argued that exploration and production on the west coast could damage marine life, might lead to oil spills and contribute to global climate change. In the 1980s, the industry held negotiations with the provincial and federal governments in an attempt to restart exploration, but talks halted when the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground in Alaska. Members of the oil industry and provincial officials held informal discussions over the past year, but the issue is so volatile that neither side wanted to be seen as instigators of a drive to end the moratorium. Should the consultants determine there is sufficient support from northern residents and native groups in the region, the government would launch a wider public consultation process on the issue. The government official said it was unlikely the province would be able to lift the ban for another year or two.

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