News
Oil and gas opportunity knocks for British Columbia
Jul 19, 2011, Alberta Oil Magazine (Read article on originating site site)
When we were putting together the material that went into our report on British Columbia for the July issue of Alberta Oil, a couple of “O” words came to mind – opportunity and obstacles.
The opportunity lies in B.C.’s huge unconventional natural gas potential and its proximity to petroleum-hungry markets in the Pacific Rim. The obstacles come in the form of strong local opposition, particularly from the province’s aboriginal people, to Enbridge Inc.’c Northern Gateway pipeline that seeks to ship tankers filled with oil sands crude from the B.C. coast to western and Asian locales, as well as low gas prices and remote geography that could scuttle development of its natural gas reserves.
All three of the features that make up the lineup of our B.C. focused issue examines the obstacles and opportunities facing the province and its oil and gas industry.
Associate editor Jeff Lewis traveled to the port of Kitimat, B.C. – a town that would be the location for at least two liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals as well as the terminus for the controversial Northern Gateway conduit. In this excellent piece, Jeff finds a community divided on what the benefits might be from opening its arms to the oil and gas sector.
Also in this issue, freelance writer Mike Sadava writes about the two LNG export terminals that are being proposed for Kitimat and whether the economics of these projects (and other LNG export schemes planned for B.C.’s coast) will be damaged by development of the huge shale gas reserves China reportedly has, as well as competition from countries with designs on ship tonnes of LNG to Asia.
And the final piece from our B.C. report is my story that delves into why the oil patch is gambling on investing in B.C.’s Horn River and Montney unconventional gas basins amid low North American natural gas prices and high development costs in these areas.