It’s no secret that British Columbia is sitting atop a treasure trove of natural gas. Recent estimates peg the province’s total reserves at a staggering 2.933 trillion cubic feet – enough to support development and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export for more than 150 years.
Most of this gas can be found in B.C.’s Northeast, where it’s locked in shale formations thousands of meters below the earth’s surface. Finding and tapping these ‘unconventional’ reservoirs requires vast financial capital, innovative technology, and cutting-edge science.
The fact that all three requisites can be found in B.C. is making the province a North American leader in natural gas exploration and development – but not everyone thinks that’s a good thing.
The capital needed to develop the province’s natural gas reserves comes largely from the private sector, where industry spends billions annually on exploration and development. Technological innovation, meanwhile, has arrived in the form of improved well drilling and rock fracturing techniques.
“We’ve always known there’s natural gas trapped in shale formations, but it’s never been technologically or economically feasible to get it out until now,” explains Geoffrey Morrison, .BC. operations manager for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). “The innovation came along when someone figured out how, two or three kilometers underground, to go from drilling a vertical well to bending that pipe at depth and redirecting it on a horizontal plane.”
But being able to drill horizontally into gas-bearing shale isn’t enough to unlock the riches trapped within. To do that, the industry employs a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fraccing’, a technique that involves repeatedly jack-hammering subsurface shale deposits with a yogurt-like mixture of water, sand, and chemicals known as ‘slickwater.’ The concussions crack the rock and release trapped gas, which then travels up the well bore to a collection facility on the surface.
Fraccing isn’t a new process; according to Morrison, it’s been part of well drilling for more than 60 years. Yet applying it on a grand scale in combination with horizontal drilling has revolutionized natural gas extraction.
“When you are able to follow a shale formation on a horizontal plane, sometimes for up to two kilometers, all of a sudden you have hundreds of meters of access or exposure to that rock instead of a few,” he notes.
While extremely effective at liberating natural gas from rock, fraccing has its drawbacks. It consumes vast amounts of water; in 2011 alone, 133 wells in B.C.’s Horn River basin used seven million cubic meters of water.
And then there’s the issue of what to do with all that ‘slickwater’ once the process is complete.
For these reasons, fraccing has become a contentious issue in B.C. Most environmental organizations vehemently oppose it, as well as B.C.’s rush to become a world leader in LNG export.
“We’re concerned that in this headlong rush for fraccing, we’re squandering precious water resources,” says Caitlyn Vernon, campaigns director for Sierra Club BC. “The concern about water is two-fold. Above the ground, we need proper water management to ensure that sufficient water is left behind for agriculture, drinking, wildlife, and ecosystems, (and) we need to be sure that wherever the toxic water is stored, it’s not leaking. Below the ground, we need to be sure we’re not contaminating our ground water.”
Sierra Club BC has repeatedly called for a moratorium on fraccing until a scientific study can be completed into its impacts on human health and the environment. Government and industry representatives argue that unbiased research in support of natural gas extraction is already being done.
Geoscience BC, a not-for-profit organization, was established by the provincial government in 2005 to encourage investment in exploration through the collection, interpretation, and public distribution of applied geoscience. Armed with an initial investment of $25 million from B.C.’s taxpayers (and subsequent contributions totalling almost as much), the organization has funded a variety of studies designed to fill scientific ‘knowledge gaps’ identified by communities, First Nations, regulators, and industry.
“There was a recognition by government and industry that there was a need for credible, independent work around research to do with geoscience, and an organization that could do that work and provide it to everyone with the goal of attracting investment in B.C.,” explains Robin Archdekin, president and Chief Executive Officer of Geoscience BC.
Geoscience BC is unique in North America, and many of its studies (particularly those pertaining to water resources in the Northeast) directly impact the province’s burgeoning oil and gas industry. Whenever possible, the group collaborates with other organizations to complete the necessary work.
Archdekin feels that B.C.’s natural gas reserves can be developed in an environmentally responsible matter, but is quick to add that it’s not his organization’s job to judge industry.
“We view the work we do, and the information that comes out of it, as supporting everybody,” he said. “We provide the data so people can make sound decisions.”
By focusing on science rather than policy or politics, Archdekin suggests, Geoscience BC can help build a sustainable natural gas industry. In the process, it may change how petroleum producers do business.
“Can we help transform the industry?” he asks. “The short answer would be ‘Yes’… I think everyone is interested in leading to an industry that’s going to be sustainable and friendly. And I think that’s where our information will guide practices, guide expectations, requirements, and then guide development.”
At present, according to Archdekin, Geoscience BC has adequate financial resources to continue its work. It spends approximately $6 million annually on scientific research, but would like to bump that figure up in the future to address issues surrounding oil and gas extraction.
But what will that future look like? It depends greatly on whom you ask.
Government leaders and industry representatives say that development of the province’s natural gas reserves will create thousands of jobs in BC and pump billions of dollars into the provincial economy. Environmental groups, meanwhile, are convinced that B.C.’s push to become a world leader in LNG export will ultimately do more harm than good.
“Relying on fracced gas for revenue is bad economics,” says Vernon. “It is a non-renewable resource. The easy-to-access gas is nearly gone, and what’s left is more expensive to produce. We are subsidizing the industry to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, and revenues from natural gas are decreasing. Why would we put our children’s future into the hands of uncertain revenue from a boom-and-bust industry that is polluting our water and our atmosphere?
“This push for LNG, this legacy of fraccing, will for future generations of B.C. families be a legacy of food insecurity, of drought, of extreme storms, of what will result from climate change. I think we face a choice. If we continue down the road we’re going on, we’re going to be living in a very different world as a result of global warming.”
Morrison of CAPP agrees that B.C. is at a crossroads, but sees the situation much differently.
“We face two futures,” he says. “In one, the industry stays about the same as it is now. The other depends on the future of LNG, and could be much, much bigger. We’re not sure what course we’re on yet… If we don’t find new markets, like Asia, we will continue to have a natural gas industry, but we won’t continue to grow it. And from our view – and let’s be clear, CAPP is an advocate of LNG in B.C. – that would be a shame.”