next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects
Have a look at this latest announcement. What the H**L is this going to do to NS's environment and to the Marine Eco-System in our offshore waters. I have not read any protest against this type of development in our waters so close to Nova Scotia's eco-sensitive coastal habitats. Let the protest begin!! ============================================================= HALIFAX - EnCana Corp's (TSX:ECA) decision to proceed with the Deep Panuke natural gas project off Nova Scotia has given fresh hope to an offshore industry that has stalled in the province in recent years. But at least one industry analyst thinks the celebrating that went on in government offices and local businesses following Thursday's announcement by Calgary-based may be premature. "A lifeline has been thrown to the Nova Scotia government and it's all about jobs," said industry analyst Ian Doig, editor of Doig's Digest, a monthly industry newsletter. "It really doesn't have much to do with revenue, production or profits. I would suggest it may possibly give EnCana a project it can sell because they've said they really want nothing to do with conventional oil and gas, or the offshore. "I don't expect to see EnCana be the operator of this at time of first production." The decision to proceed came late Wednesday during a board meeting of the Calgary-based company and followed weeks of speculation over the fate of the $700-million development. Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald praised the highly anticipated decision, saying it will bring in millions of dollars in royalties, create jobs and renew interest in the faltering sector. "It's extremely important because it sends a message that the offshore in Nova Scotia is alive and well," he said just hours after getting the news. "We're going to see over 1.3 million person hours of work, hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties, and it will showcase the future of the offshore for Nova Scotia." Doig said there's no doubt the announcement will bring jobs but it won't be the spark for renewed interest in Nova Scotia's offshore the premier is hoping for. "I don't see it driving a lot of players back in. . . . Unfortunately the geological realities offshore Nova Scotia are not that great." Doig said he be surprised if Shell Canada, which he described as a backbone of the area's offshore for 40 years, or ExxonMobil will do any more exploratory drilling off Nova Scotia. In fact the companies have announced the sale of their combined 18 per cent minority stake in Deep Panuke to Marauder Resources, (TSXV:MES), a junior which hopes to raise its stake to 22 per cent of the project. Deep Panuke, on the Scotian Shelf about 250 kilometres southeast of Halifax, is expected to start production in 2010. It's expected to deliver between 200 million and 300 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to markets in Canada and the northeast United States. Gerard Protti, president of EnCana's offshore operations, said the company plans to dig six wells and start drilling in 2009. The company also plans to build its own pipeline from Deep Panuke to get the gas to market instead of piggybacking on the existing pipeline to the existing Sable gas project. "We did a detailed analysis of both options and after that analysis, we determined that building a standalone pipeline from the project to landfall in Nova Scotia made the most sense for Deep Panuke," Protti told a conference call Thursday. "With respect to the hot tap (Sable) option, both parties agreed that the kinds of technical, commercial and operational risks outweighed the anticipated benefits for both." After more than seven years of analysis by the company, the Deep Panuke project quickly passed all regulatory hurdles, clearing the way for the company to begin lining up subcontractors. "This means a rapid ramp-up for local businesses and a substantial number of new contracts," said Paul MacEachern, managing director of the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia, an umbrella group for sub-contractors. "In the long run it means eight to 15 years in maintaining this project. This is well over $1 billion worth of work over the next decade for Nova Scotia companies." MacEachern said just maintaining the production platform will put about $150 million into the local economy every year. He estimates the development phase will employ about 1,000 and, once up and running, the project will create about 400 full-time jobs. Beneficiaries will include engineering firms, fabricators as well as shipbuilders. There's also a guarantee that supply ships for the project will be built in Nova Scotia. "The major part of the platform will likely be built overseas but the specialized components, which are greater in value, will be built locally," MacEachern said. The project would begin pumping gas in a few years as the rate of production in the Sable Offshore Energy Project wells, operated by ExxonMobil, is expected to slow. >From: Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> >Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> >Subject: [NatureNS] Three cheers for Digby Neck Quarry/Terminal decisions >by the panel >Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:02:08 -0300 > >Hear, hear! Three cheers for that wonderful panel of three people (Bob >Fournier, Gunter Muecke, and Jill Grant, who gave up a LOT of their time >for about two to three years, and were extremely diligent in their >questioning and analysis at the few days of hearings that I attended back >in >June in Digby. Beyond Richard's report below, the radio news and Maritime >Noon reported that the seven recommendations that came down from the panel >left NO GRAYS, just blacks and whites, regarding this proposal that offers >very few to no real benefits versus lots and lots of risks and >uncertainties. The panel recommends that proposed quarries less than four >hectares in size not be exempt from environmental reviews (this has been a >ministerial discretion for N.S. in the past), and that the moratorium on >quarrying proposals along Nova Scotia's North Mountain should be in place >until there is a provincial policy for coastal development, which even >Environment Minister Mark Parent has recently been heard to say in public >is >something urgently needed for Nova Scotia. > >Now it's all political, in the hands of Mark Parent and Cabinet of the N.S. >Government, and John Baird and the Government of Canada -- it's still time >for lobbying like h......... > >Here are the seven recommendations from the panel: > >********************************** >1. The Panel recommends that the Minister of Environment and Labour (Nova >Scotia) reject the proposal made by Bilcon of Nova Scotia to create the >Whites Point Quarry and Marine Terminal and recommends to the Government of >Canada that the Project is likely to cause significant adverse >environmental >effects that, in the opinion of the Panel, cannot be justified in the >circumstances. > >2. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia develop and >implement a comprehensive coastal zone management policy or plan for the >Province. > >3. Because of the special issues associated with coastal quarries, the >Panel >recommends a moratorium on new approvals for development along the North >Mountain until the Province of Nova Scotia has thoroughly reviewed this >type >of initiative within the context of a comprehensive provincial coastal zone >management policy and established appropriate guidelines to facilitate >decision-making. > >4. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia develop and >implement more effective mechanisms than those currently in place for >consultation with local governments, communities and proponents in >considering applications for quarry developments. > >5. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia modify its >regulations to require an environmental assessment of quarry projects of >any >size. > >6. The Panel recommends that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency >develop a guidance document on the application of adaptive management in >environmental assessments and in environmental management following >approvals. > >7. The Panel recommends that Transport Canada revise its ballast water >regulations to ensure that ships transporting goods from waters with known >risks take appropriate measures to significantly reduce the risk of >transmission of unwanted species. > >*************************** >Cheers (really!) from Jim in Wolfville >---------- >From: Richard Stern <sternrichard@gmail.com> >Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:45:49 -0300 >To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>, jan hermiston <janmh19@yahoo.ca> >Subject: [NatureNS] Quarry decision > >Hi, > >Victory for the Stop the Quarry campaign! The joint environmental committee >has recommended that the quarry on Digby Neck should not go ahead, and >there >should be a moratorium on further quarrying on the North Mountain. Let's >hope that the Fed. and Provincial governments listen to them. > >Richard > >-- >################# >Richard Stern, >317 Middle Dyke Rd. >Port Williams, NS, Canada >B0P 1T0 > >rbstern@ns.sympatico.ca >rbstern@xcountry.tv >sternrichard@gmail.com >################### > _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with free Messenger emoticons. Check out freemessengeremoticons.ca
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects