In response to environmental concerns surrounding shale gas extraction methods, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Bill Bennett said the province is drafting new regulations to protect B.C.’s hinterland.
“We’re working on regulations right now for the Oil and Gas Activities Act that will be specifically geared towards unconventional gas extraction,” Bennett told BIV during a recent interview.
B.C.’s oil and gas sector saw $6 billion in investment last year, most of which focused on unconventional shale gas extraction in the northeast’s Horn River and Montney basins.
The shale gas business relies on a method of extraction known as “fracking,” where horizontal drills use a high-pressure fluid to fracture tight rock formations to coax the gas to the surface. Water is a key ingredient in that fluid.
West Moberly First Nation Chief Roland Willson told BIV in late July that gas producers were using a phenomenal rate of water to support their operations at a time when the northeast was battling a drought. “It’s unbelievable how much water is going out of here right now,” he said.
The B.C. Oil and Gas Commission suspended the withdrawal of water from four basins in the Peace River watershed on August 11 citing severe drought.
Bennett said water extraction in the northeast remains a challenge for companies in B.C.’s booming gas sector.
“Companies are going to have to develop technology either that requires less water or they’re going to have to find underground sources of water,” Bennett said. “It’s a real issue.”
The government’s new environmental regulations for unconventional gas extraction will be finished this fall, he added.
Check out next week’s print edition of BIV for the provincial government’s latest investment in B.C.’s gas sector.