Re: Alberta faces ‘unstoppable’ tar sands oil leak
Posted: Fri 14 Mar 2014, 14:21:44
Reactions mixed to approval pause for Alberta shallow oilsands drilling
EDMONTON -- Environmental groups are giving Alberta's energy regulator a rare pat on the back over its decision to delay approvals for certain types of oilsands projects over concerns about the intensity of development.
"It's encouraging that the (regulator), despite the pressure to increase development, is willing to take a pause when it's required," said Erin Flanagan of the Pembina Institute, an environmental think-tank.
In late January, the Alberta Energy Regulator announced it would delay approval for all oilsands proposals in a 1.2-million-hectare region around Fort McMurray that planned to use unconventional steam injection to recover bitumen from shallow deposits. The regulator said it was increasingly concerned that development in the area was degrading the ability of subterranean rock to keep bitumen trapped underground.
"The intensity of development is increasing and we don't see it slowing down," said spokesman Darin Barter. "We're seeing increased applications and increased development in that area and we want to make sure that, going forward, we're not playing catch-up."
Developments using steam to extract bitumen are expected to ultimately be responsible for up to 80 per cent of Alberta's production.
Barter said the regulator is trying to avoid blowouts or seepages of bitumen forced through the rock layer by steam injection.
Flanagan said the method causes the layer, called caprock, to flex slightly. It's not clear what effect that constant flexing from hundreds of wells is having, she said.
"You're expanding and contracting the deposit, so it becomes more fragile. The integrity of the deposit changes over time. That's why the question of appropriate pressure becomes a critical one."
The consequences of too much pressure can be catastrophic. A 2006 blowout at a Total site left a 300-metre crater in the forest.
"This is really to ensure we don't have future issues," said Barter.
Barter said the approvals pause is not related to an ongoing leak at a Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) site near Cold Lake, where bitumen forced by steam has seeped up from cracks in the earth.