Oil Exploration - Gulf of St Lawrence

[Treblehook]

Can't think of one single bit of evidence that might convince any Canadian that the company wanting to begin oil exploration drilling operations in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Not one. When listening to the news tonight, seems there is a strong suggestion that the company wanting to drill there doesn't have the equipment or capacity to deal with a spill should they create one. What will our government do on this one?

[Bsuds]

Lets hope they say NO!

[Smurf]

Treblehook wrote:

Can't think of one single bit of evidence that might convince any Canadian that the company wanting to begin oil exploration drilling operations in the Gulf of St Lawrence.

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[SmokeOnTheWater]

http://globalnews.ca/video/1467739/drilling-in-the-gulf-of-st-lawrence

[xjeepguy]

Its awesome ! Get those Newfies back to work out there .

[Bsuds]

Its awesome ! Get those Newfies back to work out there .

But we don't want any more TFW's...

[hobbyguy]

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2012/08/05/drilling_for_oil_in_the_gulf_of_st_lawrence_without_a_clue.html

"Buried within the more than 400 pages of this spring’s federal omnibus budget bill is an invitation for resource companies to open a new frontier in Canadian oil: the Gulf of St. Lawrence. "

"Of course, there’s a debate to be had about how to negotiate between the economic benefits and environmental hazards of offshore oil. But for defenders of the gulf, it seems no debate is available.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, which is responsible for evaluating Corridor’s proposal by July 2013, will have no way of measuring the nature or extent of the environmental risks. The budget rescinded the requirement for environmental assessments of exploratory drilling and crippled the Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research, the federal agency best equipped to deliver such assessments.

The federal government has picked oil and brushed aside concerns about the environment — and all this buried within the behemoth budget bill. If the government insists that we risk a rich and important ecosystem for the prospect of underwater oil, it should not be allowed to sneak that choice past us in a footnote."

So there you have it, the usual Harper government tactics. Strikingly similar to the Northern Gateway shenanigans. Deep in the bowels of a huge omnibus bill, lift the moratorium. Change the environmental review process. Gut the capacity to actually study the issue scientifically. Bet on oil. "Drill, baby, drill!".

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/moratorium-on-gulf-of-st-lawrence-oil-exploration-sought-1.2669637
http://www.thetelegram.com/Business/2013-12-28/article-3557997/Gulf-of-St.-Lawrence-oil-projects-topic-of-discussion-for-2014/1

"The call is being met with dismay from anti-drilling activists based in Quebec, including a coalition of chiefs from the Innu, Malécite and Mi’gmaq communities of Quebec.

“The gulf is a unique and fragile area,” said Chief Claude Jeannotte of the Mi’gmaq community of Gespeg, a spokesperson for the coalition, in a Dec. 23 statement.

“Our peoples have depended on it since time immemorial and we will not allow the government of Quebec to destroy it.”

It all sounds so familiar. And with ramifications for BC's north coast in particular.

It sounds like the oil in the Gulf of St. Lawrence area is "tight" oil, and will require fracking. The unproven oil reserves said to surround Haida Gwaii are "tight" shale oil (those reserves may extend all the way to northern Vancouver Island - I'm not sure).

There are potentially issues with offshore fracking. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/epa-require-calif-offshore-fracking-reports - but it seems there is a paucity of information. In part because it appears that offshore fracking has been done "quietly" and in part because it is a developing technology - http://www.abo.net/oilportal/topic/view.do?contentId=2241968 - but it may not be any more problematic than conventional offshore production, although as the preceding article says - very expensive.

It does not, however, seem prudent to jump on board with this developing, but backward looking technology until there is more information. Especially in what are quite obviously ecologically sensitive and important areas.

When I look at what the industry has invested in developing this offshore fracking technology, I just have to wonder where we would be with geothermal energy if that investment of brain power and experimentation had gone that direction.