Pipeline News North February 2014

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VOL. 6 ISSUE 2 DIST: 16,000 SERVING THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY IN NORTHERN B.C. AND ALBERTA

PIPELINENEWSNORTH.CA

PIPELINE NEWS NORTHFREE!

FEBRUARY & MARCH 2014

from the oilpatch to the roads, alpha training solutions is driving safety for today’s workforce, and preparing for tomorrow’s

Wayne McMann, a veteran of the oilfield, offers driving classes at Alpha Training Solutions via his company, The Patch Driver Development, through a training partnership between the two businesses. The focus of his popular class is on pickup driving. “Defensive driving saves lives,” he said. MATT LAMerS PhoTo

special report: canada an ‘awakening giant’ in lng

alpha and patch driving safetyin north b.c.

2 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH

11th Annual Fort St. John Oilmen’s 4 On 4 Hockey Tournament

April 2, 3, 4, 5, 2014

entries Limited to the first 110 oilfield personnel registered for draft. Locals must be paid members of The oilmen’s Association.

All teams are drafted from individual paid entries. Teams will be drafted registration night. All Games at the North Peace rec. Center.

entries must be postmarked Feb 1st, 2nd, or 3rd 2014. No entries will be accepted prior to these dates and all entries after these dates will be viewed as late.

entry fee $200.00 / player. All fees payable to Fort St. John oilmen’s hockey Tournament.Tournament includes 5 games, door prizes, 3 breakfasts, and 1 stag ticket.

Name: ___________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________

Age: ________ Phone#_____________________________ hockey position: (G) _____ (D) _____ (F) _____

Address: _____________________________________ City/Town: _________________________________ Postal Code: _________

email address:_________________________________________________________________________________________________

When was the last time you played organized hockey? (example: Senior, Junior or rep hockey)

Level_____________________ Year___________________

Consent and Waiver AgreementI do hereby consent to participate in the annual Fort St John oilmen’s hockey Tournament. I duly recognize the risks

inherent with participation in this tournament specifically referring to, but not limited to the risk of personal injury, and do hereby waive any and all claims against this tournament or it’s executive, both jointly or severally for any loss, damage, or injury I may sustain through participation in this tournament. The foregoing is applicable to and binds all my heirs,

successors, and assigns, and as evidenced by my signature hereto, this consent and waiver agreement has been entered into freely of my own will and for my own benefit.

Date: ________________________________ Signature: _______________________________________________________________

Please forward entries to:C/o FSJ oilmen’s hockey AssociationBox 6122 - Fort St John, BC - V1J 4h6

No refunds After Cancellation Deadline Midnight March 23rd 2014. Please register Wednesday night upstairs at the curling rink between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm Direct entry inquiries and cancellations to Trevor Gould at 250-261-8399

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 3

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93, 69: The price for one litre of propane in cents, now and in 2011, respectively.

Chart on Page 5

$4, $2: The price of natural gas in January 2014 and two years ago, respectively.

Chart on Page 5

36,000: The number of people who have received training from Alpha since 2007.

Story on Page 7

$87.7 million: The price Storm resources paid on Jan. 23 to acquire Montney Formation acreage from Yoho resources. Story on Page 8

Jan. 13: The date that the proposed Kitimat LNG site at Bish Cove took a significant step forward by awarding a contract for the con-struction services, engineering and procure-ment of the new LNG plant. Story on Page 8

200: The number of people who have taken Wayne McMann’s Defensive driving and air

brakes safety classes. Story on Page 10

$165,000: The cost for one copy of “the North Montney Shale Gas Growth” report, a.k.a.the

“Bible of engineering.” Story on Page 13

10: The number of immigrants who recently took part in the development of a hiring

application. Story on Page 14

February: When the the hiring Assessment Tool Kit team will be ironing out the process,

with an eye on an end-March rollout. Story on Page 14

$370,000: The application fee for the newly introduced Class C pipeline classification, plus

$1,400 per kilometre. Story on Page 18

10 per cent: The stake that state-owned In-dian oil Corporation is reportedly considering

scooping up in Pacific Northwest LNG. Story on Page 19

12 million: The capacity that China huadian Corporation’s new LNG receiving terminal in

hainan Province will be able to handle per year once completed. Story on Page 19

20 years: how long Fort McKay First Nation has been working with petroleum companies

to develop oilsands responsibly. Story on Page 20

400: Those who attended the energy and the

oil Sands, Aboriginal Perspectives conference

in Alberta. Story on Page 20

3: The number of conferences that have been held so far for First Nations in B.C. to talk about the potential risks and benefits of LNG

development. Story on Page 21

8: The number of sailing days that shipping companies save by transporting goods to Asia from Western Canada, compared to American

ports. Story on Page 22

$14.66/GJ, $4/GJ: The average cost of LNG in Japan and North America, respectively.

Story on Page 22

560: The number of wells that the Petroleum Services Association of Canada expects to be

drilled in British Columbia this year. Story on Page 24

57%, 51%: The support Canada’s two largest pipeline proposals - energy east and Northern

Gateway enjoy, respectively. Story on Page 26.

$1,300, $1,900: The average weekly wage in Alberta a decade ago and today, respectively.

Story on Page 29

Matt laMers Photo

The following figures were taken from the stories in this issue of Pipeline News North.

PNN NUMBERS

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH What the 5

charts say

Train makers 5 to study LNG

‘SAFETY IS LIFE’ 6 Changing attitudes

Storm ups stake: 8 in Montney

Kitimat LNG issues 8 construction contract

Canada an 13 ‘awakening giant’ in LNG

A human touch 14 to hiring

Levies raised 18 for pipelines, plants

India considers 19 buying B.C. LNG

Another Chinese 19 firm wants in

20 First Nation has message for B.C.

21 LNG summit ‘to turn the debate’

22 For LNG, ‘the sooner the better’

22 Spectra updates FSJ council

23 Act quick on LNG, says ex-Liberal leader

24 Drilling forecast to rise in B.C.

25 Can LNG go green?

26 Fixing a breakdown in communication

29 LNG boom will spur wage growth

31 MoST oF B.C. SupporTS TrANS MouNTAIN

the c

hart

s Pipelinescom

munity

jobs

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Published monthly by Glacier Ventures International Corp.Pipeline News North is politically independent and a member of the B.C. Press Council. The Pipeline News North retains sole copyright of advertising, news stories and photography produced by staff. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the editor.

MATT LAMerS PhoTo

MATT PreProST PhoTo

ChArLeS CooK PhoTo

SAM BeeBe PhoTo



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The number of wells drilled in British Colum-bia peaked in 2010 at 710. By 2013, that num-ber had fallen to 567. It’s expected to rebound slightly this year. Source: The B.C. Oil & Gas Com-mission.

The average price of propane in Canada has rebounded sharply from an all-time low of 69 cents per litre in Sept. 2011 to a record 93 cents in Feb. 2014. Source: Natural Resources Canada

B.C. production of gas declined slightly, but remained near a record of 107,850 103m3/d in September. Source: National Energy Board. Figures are latest available.

The upward trend has continued since a report more than doubled the amount of gas estimat-ed to be locked in the Montney Formation. In Jan., B.C. netted $7.46 million. Source: B.C. Oil & Gas Commission

oil & gas land auction in b.c.

Low temperatures continued to boost the prices of natural gas in North America this winter. January’s aver-age was over $4 for the first time in three years. Source: U.S. Energy Info. Administration

natural gas prices, henry hub

marketable gas production in british columbia

auto propane retail price in canada

wells drilled in b.c. annually

April 2012 through January 2014

September 2013 through January 2014

January 2013 through September 2013

January 2011 through February 2014

Annual 2009 through 2013

[email protected]

LNG-powered trains aren’t the far-fetched idea they once were.

Canadian National and some American railroads plan to test natu-ral gas prototypes this year that have been developed by locomotive man-ufacturers Ge and Caterpillar.

They came up with the idea nearly 30 years ago, but unstable and ex-pensive natural gas prices made the project uneconomic.

With gas prices near record lows, this time may be different. Assuming the tests go as planned, the locomo-tive industry could be in store for the biggest changes in a century.

even if the engine problems are overcome by the railroads, signifi-

cant hurdles remain. A massive investment would be

required to retrofit trains and con-struct LNG refueling stations around the continent.

North America currently lacks liquefaction plants to service the locomotive industry and most of the liquefaction plants that have been proposed are for export purposes only.

railroads aren’t the only ones in-terested in natural gas.

The trucking industry has long eyed LNG to power its fleets, recog-nizing the same fuel cost savings, but it faces similar challenges to trains: A lack of liquefaction, expen-sive refueling infrastructure and the high cost of retrofitting thousands of trucks with new engines.

Train makers to study LNGMatt Lamers

Staff Writer


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On a recent afternoon at Alpha Training’s school in Fort St. John, Nicholas Stafford and about two dozen of his peers gathered in a classroom for a one-day course on H2S. Some were taking the class for the first time, while others, like Stafford, were there to renew their certificate, which the government mandates must be done every three years.

Stafford, however, thinks being safe means more than following government regulations.

“I like to come home to my family every day, that’s why it’s im-portant,” said the 23-year-old, 12-year resident of Fort St. John. “I’m renewing my H2S today, and so far I have learned a lot be-cause they’ve updated the course.”

Safety is the heart of Alpha Training Solutions. Everyone working in the oilpatch is required to have certain certificates, or “tickets” as they’re called, and no one turns out more students in Northern British Columbia than they do.

Alpha is amongst a select number of institutions that offer safety training in the area, including St. John’s Ambulance and Northern Lights College, but it is the only one that doesn’t get assistance from the government.

George Katona, Alpha’s general manager, said Alpha is expand-ing as fast as it is because of its reputation. “We’ve been around for about 15 years. Everybody knows us,” he said. “A lot of people go through here and they’re happy with the quality of service that we provide. Our founder’s mission is to be a positive influence in the marketplace. So we do what we say and say what we do.”

Alpha was founded by David and Judy Phibbs in 1997. David is currently CEO.

Alpha Training’s most popular courses are H2S and Level 1 first aid, but they offer a bevy of others, such as confined space and de-fensive driving. All of Alpha Training’s tickets are one-day courses except Level 3 first aid, which is two weeks.

“H2S is by far the most popular ticket because it’s required for anyone who wants to work in the oilpatch,” said Katona.

H2S is a deadly gas. It’s an important ticket for workers to get so “they know what they’re up against in the patch. It can kill them. They learn how to avoid it. What to do if someone goes down, how to save themselves and others if something happens.”

Since 2007, about 36,000 people have been trained by Alpha. Business has doubled over that timeframe. Martin Weiderman, training manager for Alpha, said their growth

boils down to an expanding industry, a rising awareness of safety and liability concerns for employers.

See SAFETY on PAGE 10

SAFETY SPECIAL

Matt Lamers

The region’s largest private safety training company is preparing to meet the demand in

northern British Columbia

‘SAFETY IS LIFE’


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Storm resources Ltd. announced on Jan. 23 that it had purchased Montney Formation acreage from Yoho resources Ltd. for $87.7 million.

The land is in the Umbach-Nig area of Northeast British Columbia and contains two horizontal wells that produce 359 Boe per day.

The Umbach-Nig Creek area is about 80 kilometres north of Fort St. John. The deal involves a 100 per cent working interest in 29 sections of undevel-

oped land. The acquisition, which was scheduled to close on Jan. 31, brought Storm’s

Montney land holdings in the Umbach-Nig Creek area to 98,000 acres. The company said production rates from its previous 10 horizontal wells

have improved by 50 per cent to 60 per cent from earlier horizontal wells.

MATT LAMERSStaff Writer

Storm ups stake in Montney

BRIEFS

The proposed Kitimat LNG site at Bish Cove took a significant step forward on Jan. 13 when Chevron/Apache awarded a contract to JGC/Fluor for the con-struction services, engineering and procurement of the new plant.

The province took it as a positive step, saying that it’s a “strong sign” that the LNG project is on the right track.

Kitimat LNG is a joint venture between Apache Canada and Chevron Canada. They are expected to make their final investment decision sometime in the

next year. “Today’s news is another strong sign of LNG projects advancing in British

Columbia, which means another step towards realizing an unprecedented op-portunity to create jobs and stronger communities throughout British Colum-bia,” said Premier Christy Clark. “There are already 400 people supporting their families by working on the proposed Kitimat LNG facility site, one that has the potential to benefit all British Columbians.”

of the dozen LNG projects that have been proposed, Kitimat LNG is in a more advanced stage of development.

It would be fed by a 463 km, 36-inch pipeline, which already completed its en-vironmental Assessment and received the green light from provincial authori-ties in 2008.

The pipeline would be built by Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership and cost about $1.2 billion.

Kitimat LNG was granted a 20-year export permit by the NeB in october 2011. The natural gas would come from the 644,000 undeveloped acres in the horn

river and Liard basins that Chevron Canada and Apache Canada have jointly invested in, according to regulatory filings.

MATT LAMERSStaff Writer

Kitimat LNG issues construction contract

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SAFETY from PAGE 6

“Demand is only going to grow for safety con-sciousness,” said the native of South Africa. “What we’ve discussed is how to get people to go from behavior-based safety to belief-based safe-ty, so they understand the value in it for them-selves, it’s not something that’s about rules. We have to change people’s thinking.”

Alpha Training Solutions has been able to keep up with industry growth in the last 10 years. But that could be a drop in the bucket compared to what is in store for Northern B.C. in the coming decade.

eight pipelines are in the works, along with about 20 natural gas export projects of all sizes. even if only two of the mega-projects move for-ward, which is about what analysts speculate will happen, 100,000 workers will be needed to build and operate the natural gas production centres, the pipelines and the liquefaction plants. If the massive Site C dam is built near Fort St. John, another 30,000 people will be needed.

All the workers will need safety certificates. Alpha Training Solutions has a plan to tap into

this massive market. over the years, they’ve taken their courses on

the road. But in the years ahead, they hope to greatly expand their mobile class offerings.

In January they travelled to Blueberry river First Nations to offer training in first aid, and in-dustrial and outdoor courses. over the two week period, about 120 “seats” were offered.

“With the LNG development and the pipelines

going that way, it’s going to be a big opportunity for us, because First Nations people would obvi-ously want to be involved with that opportunity for employment,” said Weiderman. “They’re go-ing to need tickets to be employable.”

They have also offered courses for Bellacoo-la First Nation, a coastal community of about 2,000 people, and plan to return later this year.

Alpha will offer on-site training for communi-ties between Prince George and Prince rupert both this year and next. The idea, said Weide-man, is to keep costs low for both the students and the company by servicing as many places

as possible between Prince George and Prince rupert.

“We want to take the training to those loca-tions. We might look at a satellite campus in Prince rupert or Kitimat,” he added.

‘Defensive driving will save your life’George onikashvili, from Vancouver, via Geor-

gia, was in Stafford’s class in February. “It’s very important to have this class because

it’s dangerous to work in the oilfields and gas-

fields. We’re happy to work here in Canada be-cause there is a very high level of safety,” said the 49 year-old.

The focus of the school’s defensive driving training is on pickup trucks.

“Safety is important for us, our health and the environment. Safety is life,” he added.

That’s a common theme through the classes. “everybody wants their employees to come

home in one piece,” said Katona. “When some-one is lost it’s a big deal, so we try to provide training so they know what to do in case some-thing happens.”

Most of the tickets that are required to work in the oilpatch must be renewed every three years.

“People are industry’s most valuable asset,” Weiderman said. “If you look after them, and they have the sense that

you truly care about them, then they’re prob-ably going to care about your business. They’re not just robotic machines. even in our business here, the more you take care of people, the more they take care of you.”

The school also offers courses in defensive driving.

Wayne McMann, a veteran of the oilfield, offers driving classes at Alpha Training Solu-tions through his company, The Patch, Driver Development, through a training partnership

CoUrTeSY PhoTo

‘Defensive driving will save your life. Literally,” he said. “There’s no question

about that.’— Wayne McMann


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between the businesses. he offers classroom courses from defensive

driving to fuel-economy driving, as well as safe driving in adverse conditions and anything from “learners to Class 1.”

“Defensive driving will save your life. Liter-ally,” he said. “There’s no question about that. Good driver training makes the difference be-tween a merely competent driver and a good driver or even a great driver. Driver training is essential.”

Defensive driving and air brakes are the most popular tickets he offers.

“We’ll give you the tools and the driver train-ing for you to go out and get the hardcore expe-

rience. If you want to use the simulator, we can expose you to things that you wouldn’t see for two or three years,” he said.

About 200 people have benefited from the two classes. McMann, also based in Fort St. John, has been working with Alpha Training Solutions for just over a year.

“It’s been good for both of us. It fills in the training holes for the two of us,” he said. “With one phone call, we can start somebody com-pletely rookie, totally brand new, and turn them out with all the tickets and all the training they need to go out and work in the patch, including Class 1 driving.” It would take about a month to earn all the tickets they offer.

“I’m a darn good instructor. It matters to me that people learn what they need to know.

“I know that when my drivers go out, that they’re going to be much safer, much more ef-fective drivers. My highest rating for a driver is one that is both safe and effective. That really is what our training is all about.”

MATT LAMerS PhoTo

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SAFETY SPECIAL

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Canada an

‘awakening giant’ in LNG

Bill Gwozd doesn’t think “some” of the Montney shale projects will go forward like most analysts, Ziff en-ergy’s senior vice president thinks all of them will.

Ziff energy is the lead consul-tant for most of the LNG projects in Western Canada, providing infra-structure, supply and demand out-looks 25 years into the future. “These projects all have legs and all have rationale as to why they could all go. At the end of the day, each project has its own merits,” he said. “I think they’re on the right track.”

Natural gas is being billed as the driver of British Columbia’s eco-nomic growth for decades to come. Provincial authorities claim that de-veloping the resource will help free B.C. of debt within two decades and add up to a trillion dollars to its GDP in the long run.

Still, challenges lay ahead. No major proponent has made a final investment decision, and the pro-posed pipelines face considerable opposition from environmentalists and some First Nations.

Nevertheless, Gwozd is optimistic.“each of the individual propo-

nents that have a plan for their LNG facility have individual reasons why their facility should proceed, so I’m not of the camp that some may not proceed and some will go. I’m of the camp that they will all proceed.”

What the projects in Western Canada, particularly those in the Montney formation have going for them, Gwozd said, is that many have “push” and “pull.”

“Pull” is when a foreign proponent seeks a natural resource overseas. In this case, petroleum corporations from Korea, China, Japan and Ma-laysia are active in Western Canada’s shale gas plays. “Push” is when do-mestic producers seek buyers for their resource.

“In many of these cases, the sup-ply is being pulled into their country because they want the natural gas,” said Gwozd. “Producers are push-ing it, and [foreign companies] are pulling it, so we have a push-pull ar-rangement, which is a match made in heaven.”

Canada’s geography also makes it a natural match to meet Asia’s needs.

“There’s a lot of natural reasons why Canada will emerge as the awakening giant to supply a lot of opportunities to Asia. Today in Asia, LNG demand is 25-35 billion cubic feet of gas [per day], but by 2020,

LNG demand could be 40-60 BCFs per day,” Gwozd said.

“You’re going to have greater de-mand for LNG, therefor you need more LNG demand to be distrib-uted. And that’s only by 2020. These projects are going to go for a long time. As other countries are going to grow their economies, they’re going to need more energy.”

A ‘Bible’ for Montney shale

It’s sometimes called the “Bible of engineering,” but this book isn’t free.

released in early December, the North Montney Shale Gas Growth report hasn’t struggled to find buy-ers, despite its staggering price tag of $165,000 per copy. That’s because it’s essential reading for the big players in B.C.’s natural gas sector.

So far the report has been deliv-ered to AltaGas, Apache, Chevron, enbridge, Shell and Veresen since its release. The authors, Ziff energy and Gas Processing Management Inc., say more will surely be booked.

“We forecast the future,” Gwozd told Pipeline News North. “It’s an en-gineering Bible at your fingertips.”

About 10 months in the works, the 202-page North Montney Shale Gas Growth study identifies locations where new infrastructure is required to produce natural gas, the scale of

the infrastructure, the year it would be required and the type, whether it be sweet, sour, or liquid processing.

Infrastructure under the micro-scope includes pipelines, gathering systems and processing plants. The report maps out, by year, 25 specific, actionable recommendations.

“We go through each one and iden-tify the locations of new facilities, whether its pipe, processing facili-ties, the costs, and what the benefits are going to be,” said Gwozd. “each of the actionable recommendations has a capital savings, a product ac-celeration savings and an operating expense savings.”

This is the fourth report of its kind by Ziff energy and Gas Processing Management Inc.

The first, titled Montney Growth, was delivered to 18 participants in 2012. Tight Gas & Northern Duver-nay Growth had 16 participants in 2012 and its Southern Duvernay ver-sion had nine participants in 2013.

The next two reports, Natural Gas-West and NGL-east, promise to help resize B.C.’s proposed pipelines and solve the problem of infrastructure bottlenecks. They’re scheduled to be released in July and December.

“We put it on a silver platter and that’s why we have 50 subscribers. It’s a business plan come true.”

Matt LamersStaff Writer

MATT LAMerS PhoTo

FoRECAST


[email protected]

a human touch to

hiring

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For information on Membership

contact Art Jarvis, Executive Directorfor contact information seewww.energyservicesbc.org

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Immigrant Employment Council of B.C. Beyond connecting immigrants with pro-

spective employers, the the tool kit will help energy companies alleviate one of the big-gest challenges of doing business in North-ern British Columbia: filling their ranks with qualified and skilled workers.

Ochoa, an electrical engineer from the Philippines, has been a permanent resident here for two years. He said that when the hiring program is ready, it will benefit every-one involved.

Ultimately, the Hiring Assessment Tool Kit goes beyond assessing a person’s creden-tials to focusing on what a candidate can actually do.

“Where the tool showed its strength was because the focus is on the conversation, the assessors were able to figure out wheth-er they would fit into the job,” said Steward, project manager and lead consultant. “But they were also able to see where they could fit within the industry, and point them in that direction.”

Ochoa and his nine peers took part in its development from the third week of De-cember to the second week of January at the Empire Landmark Hotel and Immigrant Ser-vices Society of B.C. in Vancouver.

The nine-member Hiring Assessment Tool Kit team has until the end of March to get the hiring tool ready for industry use.

Key partners in the project are employers such as Shell, Esso and Encana.

There are currently about a dozen major natural gas production and export plans in the works in Northern B.C. If only two of them go forward, the province will be in quick need of tens of thousands of workers to construct and operate natural gas pro-duction facilities, pipelines, liquefaction plans and export terminals.

Labour is seen as one of the biggest

For immigrants like Narcisco Ocho, the biggest challenge to succeeding in Canada is being given an opportunity to use his skills.

Ochoa was one of 10 newcomers to Brit-ish Columbia who recently took part in the development of a hiring application that will help connect qualified immigrants with prospective employment opportunities in Northern British Columbia’s oilpatch.

“The program will help in two ways,” said Ocho. “It will open new doors for us. Alone, I don’t think we would have a chance to meet the right people in the industry. Second, the program is good for new immigrants like me because it doesn’t only assess us on our skills, but it’s also like an assessment of myself, on which of my skills I can use in Canada so I can know which jobs I would be eligible for.”

Spearheaded by Sandy Steward, it’s known as the Hiring Assessment Tool Kit. It’s being led by Northern Lights College and funding comes from the Employer Innovation Fund,


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“It’s not just anybody who can do this,” said Steward. “The assessor is essentially an expert in the job that you’re hiring for. So if you’re hiring a gas plant operator, you want to have a gas plant operator that you train and they conduct the assessment. This assessment is really a conversation between two people who know how to do the job.

“The assessor will be able to determine how well they did it [in the past],” she added. “It’s much more focused on a specific job than a standard interview with general questions. It’s more relaxed. The assessor is trained to ask a series of specific questions designed to talk about the experiences that the job applicant has actually had in working that are relevant to the tasks done at the jobs.” See JOBS on PAGE 28

challenges to developing British Columbia’s natural gas industry.

Steward, a consultant in the area of work-force development, worked with the B.C. Natural Gas Workforce Strategy Committee from 2012, concluding that British Colum-bia will need more than 75,000 permanent skilled workers for the province’s LNG proj-ects. An additional 60,000 workers will be needed for construction in 2016 and 2017, the taskforce concluded.

“There was a common theme to all of the issues the committee identified for the planned investment in the North through 2020,” said Steward. “They revolved around workforce development in terms of hav-ing enough workers, addressing the skills issues of current workers. Northern Lights College has the opportunity with the Em-ployer Innovation Fund and it gave us the opportunity to implement a couple of the recommendations.”

Steward hopes that by incorporating “re-lationships” into the candidate evaluation process, the tool will more effectively con-nect candidates with the employers, large and small.

“The objective of the project is to help employers hire new Canadians. Employers in natural gas and mining don’t necessarily have the tools to accurately assess whether these people can do the jobs they want them to do,” she said. “It’s a common language so employers and job seekers can talk to each other.”

The Hiring Assessment Tool Kit also aims to address the fact that many entry-level en-ergy jobs in Northern B.C. do not have clear definitions or job descriptions.

This is how it works: The assessment does not look at technical competencies of candi-dates, but rather it measures their “general competencies,” and those are things like adaptability, ability to work within a team, resilience, plus an understanding and will-ingness to relocate to the North.

The team selected some tests to get that information. A three-hour, occupation-specific essential skills test was developed, as was a language proficiency particular to certain jobs. Next, psychometric tests were used to determine if a person would be a safety liability.

“It’s a comprehensive tool that gives you a fair amount of information about the in-dividual, including identifying areas where you can direct training,” said Steward.

Labour retention is big issue in the North, so assessing whether a person could stick it out at a job is a key part of the assessment.

There are a couple ways the Hiring Assess-ment Tool Kit could be implemented after it’s completed next month.

One is that the Northern Lights College could provide candidate assessment as a service for employers who don’t have ad-equate human resources capabilities. The centre could have people to do these kinds of assessments for them, since the Hiring Assessment Tool Kit requires that those do-ing the assessments are specially trained.

EmPLoYmEnTKerrI-Jo PhoTo


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ThorlaksonManagement Ltd.

Steve Thorlakson cfp

Project Manager

10403 109 Ave.Fort St. John, BC V1J [email protected]

It’s going to cost more to obtain permits to build new pipelines, wells and resource roads in British Columbia in the coming years.

In February, the B.C. oil and Gas Commission updated its Fee, Levy and Security regulation regime for the first time since Aug. 1, 2012.

The Commission, a provincial entity, uses revenue from the fees to meet its regulatory obligations and recover expenses. Some of the increased revenue will be used for the Science and Community envi-ronmental Knowledge Fund.

The SCeK is used to fund initia-tives such as the Induced Seismic-ity Monitoring Project, which went live last March. It was initiated after the oGC’s 2012 report “Investiga-tion of observed Seismicity in the horn river Basin” concluded that seismic activity was synchronous with hydraulic fracturing opera-tions that had taken place between April 2009 and December 2011 in the horn river Basin.

“The increases to well permit ap-plication fees and production lev-ies will increase funds and allow for new projects. Assessments are con-ducted on a regular basis to deter-mine how the funds are used,” said hardy Friedrich, communications manager.

Friedrich said the commission routinely evaluates the fee sched-ule and addresses required updates as necessary.

The permit application fee for a Class C LNG facility producing in excess of 5.634 106 m3 /day will rise from $100,000 to $650,000. A permit amendment fee, which had no charge previously, will now cost

$350,000 post-design. The permit application fee for

a small plant, one producing less than 1.4 106 m3 /day, was slashed from $50,000 to $25,000.

The cost for a first-time applicant to obtain a permit to drill or oper-ate a well will fall from $18,700 to $12,400.

This year’s Fee, Levy and Security regulation introduced a new clas-sification of pipeline, called Class C. The cost for a proponent to ob-tain a permit for a Class C pipeline less than 50 kilometres in length is $2,000 plus $1,400 per kilome-tre, but that rises significantly for pipelines more than 50 kilometres long, which will cost $370,000 plus $1,400 per kilometre.

The changes went into effect on Feb. 6.

“The Fee, Levy and Security reg-ulation accommodate the increase time and staff are required to thor-oughly and responsibly review all applications the BC oil and Gas Commission receives,” said Fried-rich. “These changes were reviewed by the commission, industry and the provincial government.”

As a result of the enactment of the oil and Gas road regulation, the commission will be issuing permits for oil and gas resource roads.

Winter access roads in excess of five kilometres will face permit ap-plication fees of $100/km. All sea-son access roads longer than five kilometres will cost proponents $200/km to obtain a permit. Both permits previously had no charge. Major amendment applications will cost $500.


Levies raised for pipelines, plants

The update to the Fee, Levy and Secu-rity regulation comes ahead of an expected rise in drilling this year.

There is also in ex-cess of 20 proposed projects to export B.C.’s natural gas to markets in Asia, al-though analysts ex-pect a small number of those to eventually move forward.


EnVIRonmEnT

British Columbia’s natural gas has drawn considerable interest from Japan, China, South Korea and Malaysia in recent years, as companies from Asia have raced to establish partnerships with Ca-nadian gas producers.

Add India to the list. The state-owned Indian oil Cor-

poration is reportedly considering a minority stake in Pacific North-west LNG.

The Indian oil Corporation is the country’s largest refiner and distributor of fuel.

The company is said to be in ad-vanced talks for a 10 per cent stake in Progress energy resources Cor-poration, which is a part owner of

Pacific Northwest LNG. The stake is worth a reported $1

billion. Pacific Northwest LNG is a joint

venture between Malaysia’s Petro-nas, Japan’s Japex and Petroleum Brunei.

If it receives an affirmative fi-nal investment decision, it would be located on Lelu Island, Prince rupert.

Petronas sold a 3 per cent stake in Progress energy’s natural gas assets to Petroleum Brunei, and the Indian oil Corporation hopes to do something similar.

Japan Petroleum exploration Company, or Japex, acquired a 10 per cent stake in the project last April.

on Dec. 16, Canada’s National energy Board handed out export

permits to Prince rupert LNG ex-ports Limited, Pacific Northwest LNG, WCC LNG and Woodfibre LNG export Pte. Ltd, respectively, bringing the number of approved LNG export permits to seven.

The proponents were awarded permits to export about 73 million aggregate tonnes of LNG per year for 25 year terms.

Pacific Northwest LNG would be fed natural gas by the Prince rupert Gas Transmission Proj-ect, which is the largest of the gas pipelines that have been proposed in terms of diameter and length.

The 900 km, 48 inch pipe would cut a path from a point near hud-son’s hope, about 80 km from Fort St. John, to the proposed Pa-cific Northwest LNG facility on

Lelu Island.Upstream, Progress will produce

the gas in Northeast B.C. Progress energy Canada Ltd. has

already signed agreements with NoVA Gas Transmission Ltd. for approximately two billion cubic feet per day of firm gas transpor-tation through its pipeline system, and in 2019 the proposed North Montney Mainline extension will connect to the proposed Prince rupert Gas Transmission sys-tem, providing deliveries to the planned Pacific Northwest LNG terminal.

Progress energy Canada was ac-quired by Petronas in 2012.

The pipeline’s capacity would be two billion cubic feet of gas a day, with the ability to expand to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day.

A bird’e eye view of Prince Rupert. The state-owned Indian Oil Corporation is reportedly considering a minority stake in Pacific Northwest LNG, which would be based in Prince Rupert if it receives an affirmative final investment decision. CoUrTeSY PhoTo

INdIa coNSIdERS BUyINg INto B.c. gaSMatt Lamers

Staff Writer

China huadian Corporation is considering an investment in one of British Columbia’s lique-fied natural gas (LNG) projects, a Chinese newspaper reported last month.

The paper, Want China Times, reported that China huadian Corporation has been in contact with the Malaysian state-owned energy company Petronas about

the possibility of buying a stake in Pacific Northwest LNG.

on Dec. 16, 2013, Pacific NorthWest LNG received per-mission from the National ener-gy Board to export 19.68 million tonnes of LNG per year.

Pacific NorthWest LNG is joint-ly owned by Petronas, Japex and Petroleum Brunei. It will be lo-cated on Lelu Island, Prince ru-

pert, if it receives an affirmative investment decision.

The report also noted that China huadian Corporation has already invested in receiving terminals in hainan Province, southern China, in anticipation of the country ramping up im-ports of LNG. It will be capable of handling 12 million tons per year of LNG.

another chinese firm

wants inMatt Lamers

Staff Writer

InduSTRY nEwS


[email protected]

first nation has a message for b.c.

For Fort McKay First Nation, it’s not a ques-tion of economic development or environmen-tal protection, it’s an issue of balancing.

For years, Fort McKay First Nation has been working with neighbouring petroleum compa-nies to develop natural resources in a respon-sible, sustainable way.

It’s a model the first nation says could be em-ulated in British Columbia, where First Nations stand to gain from the province’s burgeoning natural gas industry, but suffer more envi-ronmental losses if they’re not represented at the table.

Dayle hyde, communications director for Fort McKay First Nation, said that engaging the energy corporations has allowed the First Na-tion to control the pace of development and share in the wealth that has been generated from the oilsands developments.

“What’s worked well for Fort McKay is a real-ization that we’re going to share in the wealth of development, and by doing that we’ll be able to control the pace of development, so it helps on the environmental side,” he said.

having a seat at the table has benefited the community.

“What’s really interesting is that industry lis-tens and is willing to adapt how they do things,” said hyde.

“Fort McKay’s perspective is to stay posi-tive and find solutions - not get into a world of hiring a bunch of lawyers, having protests and road blocks. McKay has been doing this for 20 years.”

Fort McKay is about 25 minutes north of Fort McMurray, the oilsands hub in Northeast Alberta.

The community’s 600 residents have done well for themselves by working hand-in-hand with petroleum companies when they can, but opposing projects that are deemed to destruc-tive. It’s a strategy that allows for profits to be invested back into the community. Fort McKay,

for example, is planning to build a high school in the near future.

Fort McKay is also able to maintain strict en-vironmental monitoring, explained hyde.

“obviously there are economic benefits, jobs, dividends that come back into the com-munity, and other things is on the environ-mental side. The companies in this region have huge environmental positions, because they’re concerned about the environment [like us]. So we work together with them,” he said.

“It’s counterintuitive, but that’s proven to be a pretty good benefit to both the companies and McKay.”

To that end, Fort McKay First Nation held an energy conference at the end of Janu-ary to bring the different players to the same room to talk about challenges and ways to overcome them.

The conference, named energy and the oil Sands, Aboriginal Perspectives, brought to-gether 400 people from various sectors.

Fort McKay Chief Jim Boucher received a standing ovation for his message about bal-ancing development, allowing community to create wealth and to leave this planet in a great shape for his grandson.

The goal of the conference, said hyde, was to stimulate a discussion between the First Na-tion, industry, community, individual compa-nies and government.

“There is a long history of people working to-gether, so we want to keep the discussion go-ing,” hyde said. “As long as we’re talking about the issues, we’ll find a way to resolve them.”

McKay’s approach is to keep talking about the issues, even the hard ones.

To be sure, Fort McKay doesn’t go along with every project that comes its way. It’s cur-rently embroiled in a legal dispute to block development on a what would be a 20-kilo-metre buffer zone on land that is owned by PetroChina Co. Ltd.

hyde said the energy and the oil Sands, Ab-original Perspectives conference is the first time Fort McKay joined with the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business to bring the major oil and gas players together with ab-original organizations to talk about shared

responsibilities and build working relationships.

President of the Canadian Associ-ation of Petroleum Producers, Dave Collyer and Janet Annesley, its vice president, joined the Fort McKay First Nation conference.

“Canada’s oil sands producers rely on mutually beneficial rela-tionships with Aboriginal peoples and we welcome the opportunity

to build on past successes together through events that allow all participants to discuss various issues and perspectives,” said Collyer. “Canada’s oilsands producers are pleased to be part of this conference and we look forward to engaging in a constructive dialogue.”

CAPP says that Aboriginal companies in Northeast Alberta have pulled in more than $8 billion over the past 14 years by working with energy companies.

When Karim-Aly Kassam, professor at Cor-nell University, addressed the attendees, he noted that the region possesses the largest de-velopment in the world in terms of the scale of wealth to be generated for Aboriginal commu-nities. “So let’s get it right,” he said.

For hyde, the key to moving forward is to maintain constructive dialogue.

“The conversation is not antagonistic,” he said.

“People are focused on shared values.”


‘Fort McKay’s perspective is to stay positive and find solutions. McKay has

been doing this for 20 years.’– Dayle hyde


lng summit ‘to turn the debate’

First Nations across British Columbia’s energy corridor are an integral part of the upstream and midstream production chain. Most of the fracking takes place on First Na-tions’ traditional lands and First Nations are providing an increasingly important pool of labour.

Accordingly, First Nations leaders are gathering in Fort St. John from Feb. 17 to 19 to talk about the potential risks and benefits of LNG development, and how to involve their communities in the decision-making process.

It’s the third in a series of conferences that started in 2013. After the event in Fort St. John in February, another will be held in Fort Nelson in the spring.

The First Nations Liquefied Natural Gas Summit in october 2013 took place in Prince George. Thirty-six First Nations communities directly affected by LNG de-velopment were represented.

Chief Terry Teegee from the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, the organizer, said it fos-tered communication to deal with the large LNG projects that are in the works.

“The biggest challenge for a First Nations community is working together. I think it’s a big problem when we have communities [acting] individually, because that kind of sets the bar on how these companies ne-gotiate with communities and I think we’re

way better off if we’re together. our lever-age is a lot better when we’re together than when we’re apart.”

This time around, Anna Barley, Treaty 8 Tribal Association’s acting director of ad-ministration and economic development, said the hope is that the conference will help First Nations decide on the next steps, and also give government and industry a better understanding of the issues from their perspective.

“The first two summits were a great way to bring together the very diverse First Na-tions affected by LNG proposals, and estab-lishing opinions and areas of agreement,” said Barley.

The Fort St. John summit is being hosted by Treaty 8. It will offer tools and workshops that are designed to help First Nations lead-ers return home with a clearer idea of what they are going to do next and how they will achieve it.

“This is a rapidly developing issue, espe-cially as there is considerable pressure on First Nations to make quick decisions which could have major impacts for generations,” said Barley.

“The plan has always been for multiple events, and the first two summits made some real progress.

“We want the third to turn the debate, discussion and planning into real example and action.”


‘This is a rapidly developing issue, especially as there is considerable pressure on First Nations to make quick

decisions which could have major impacts for generations.’

FIRST nATIonS

Participants of the First Nations Liquefied Natural Gas Summit in October 2013 in Prince George. From top: Grand Chief Ed John, Prince George summit chairperson Leonard Thomas, Regional Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould, Tribal Chief Terry Teegee, Lheidli T’enneh Elder Darlene MacIntosh and B.C. Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver. First Nations leaders are gathering in Fort St. John from Feb. 17 to 19 to talk about the potential risks and benefits of LNG development, and how to involve their communities in the decision-making process. KeLLY BerGMAN PhoToS


[email protected]

for lng, ‘the sooner the better’CAPP report a primer for Western Canada’s potential

Spectra energy represen-tatives updated Fort St. John City Council at the end of January on the proposed Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission Project.

At the meeting, Franca Petrucci, a community co-ordinator, said the energy company hired a techni-cal workforce manager six months ago and a vendor registration database has been established. She also said the pipeline would re-sult in 4,000 jobs in the con-struction phase and 60 more post-construction.

The proponent submitted its draft Application Infor-mation requirements (dAIr) early last year. The Spectra representatives told Fort St. John councilors that the company intends to apply for an environmental Assess-ment Certificate this spring.

The proponents, Spectra energy and BG Group, envi-sion a pipeline that would move 4.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Spectra’s pipe system at Sta-tion 2, southwest of Fort St. John, to ridley Island, near Prince rupert, some 850 ki-lometers away.

The proposal involves building a twinned 48-inch pipeline. It would cost about $6 billion.

The associated LNG proj-ect is Prince rupert LNG, which is a 50/50 joint venture by BG Group and Spectra energy.

on Dec. 16, 2013, Prince rupert LNG exports Lim-ited was granted a licence to export 21.6 million tonnes of per year for a term of 25 years. Prince rupert LNG’s fi-nal investment decision isn’t expected until 2015 at the earliest.

British Columbia is on track to develop its natural gas industry, ac-cording to Mark Pinney, author of the report “An overview of the World LNG Market and Canada’s Potential for exports of LNG.”

But he warned that the opportu-nity won’t be around forever.

“I think it’s the sooner the better,” he said in an interview. “The longer you wait, the longer you give some-one else a chance to serve the mar-ket before you.”

Pinney is manager of markets and transportation at the Canadian As-sociation of Petroleum Producers.

The report, released in January, identifies countries which are com-peting with Canada to develop their natural gas resources for export. These include Qatar, the largest ex-porter of LNG in the world, Nigeria and Australia.

Pinney said that if Canada has a leg up on these projects, it’s due to our relative stability and geographic advantages.

“I think Kitimat and Prince rupert are geographically well positioned to serve the huge markets in Asia.

“Direct ocean access is good. Let’s not forget the United States. I think it’s really good that we don’t have to worry about traversing the Panama Canal,” he said. “The fact that we have direct ocean access and eight to nine [fewer] sailing days [to Asia] is a strong advantage.”

The report also noted: “With only eight sailing days to Japan and 11 sailing days to China, the West Coast

ports of Kitimat and Prince rupert are closer than any other North American port to these markets.”

Two factors are driving LNG po-tential in Western Canada: Asia’s growing economies, especially developing ones, require cleaner


An aerial view of Kitimat, which is vying to be one of two export hubs on the West Coast. Mark Pinney, author of the report “An Overview of the World LNG Market and Canada’s Potential for Exports of LNG,” said Canada is on track in developing its LNG.

SAM BeeBe PhoTo


Spectra updates

FSJ council

provincial government for its “B.C. Prosperity Fund.”

of the approximately 20 LNG proj-ects that are in the pipeline, none have yet to make a final investment decision. The consensus is that only one to three will actually happen.

For those companies still consid-ering whether or not to move for-ward, Pinney said they are looking at complex and rigorous analyses.

he identified progress on their permits and environmental applica-tions as one factor. “I haven’t heard of any major hiccups there. I think we’re seeing some, generally speak-ing, good partnerships with First Nations. I think the biggest hurdle will be the need to have some long term sales contract in hand.

“I think once they get these long-term contracts in place, I think that will be a major hurdle for them to overcome and say ‘yep let’s move forward.’” See LNG on PAGE 29

sources of power, and the price of LNG is significantly lower in North America than it is in Asia.

In Japan, for example, LNG on average costs $14.66/GJ. In North America, however, that compares to under $4/GJ.

The report acknowledges the fact that ex-ports of LNG to Asia will only be economic if the market price for LNG in Asia re-mains “signifi-cantly higher” than market

prices in Canada. That’s because ex-porters will incur significant costs associated with the production, liquefaction and delivery of natural gas some 7,000 kilometres away. Ad-ditional costs will come from a yet-to-be-announced LNG tax by the

‘The longer you wait, the longer you give someone else a chance to

serve the market before you.’– Mark Pinney


R001642872

British Columbia businesses should not be fearful, but bullish, when it comes to getting involved in the opportunity liquefied natural gas developments presents to the province.

That was the message former B.C. Liberal party leader Gordon Wilson delivered to local business groups in Fort St. John as part of two-day stop promoting the province’s LNG Buy BC program in the Peace region.

Wilson told the two-dozen attend-ees that he came out of retirement to develop the program as a skeptic, but says trotting around the globe and meeting with industry propo-nents and officials has given him a chance to analyze the potential.

“I really do believe this is an op-portunity to transform the economy of British Columbia,” said Wilson. “And one we should not be fearful of we should be bullish about getting involved with. My job is to get peo-ple involved as best we can.”

right now, the program – an-nounced last year by Premier Chris-ty Clark as a “matchmaker” service – is developing an online portal to expose and link local businesses to procurement opportunities from the multi-national proponents be-hind some of the projects slated for the province.

“It’s a unique way for British Co-lumbians to engage, and it’s a great way for industry proponents to eas-ily start to interface with people who

want to engage,” said Wilson.The site would link into existing

industry supply chain connectors run by the Northern Development Initiative Trust and the B.C. Business Network, and is expected to launch later this year, according to Wilson.

Following the launch will be “in-teractive boot camps” with LNG proponents to understand devel-opment plans and procurement re-quirements and standards, said Wil-son. There will also be a conference and tradeshow in Vancouver from May 21 to 23 for suppliers and in-dustry to meet face to face with key provincial decision makers.

“It’s going to be a very good oppor-tunity, a real opportunity to actually talk specifically to people, and you won’t be working through somebody like me – there’s no middle man,” said Wilson.

British Columbia is well posi-tioned geographically to meet the growing thirst for LNG in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and China said Wilson.

however, the province has much to learn from other countries al-ready developing the product, such as Australia, that didn’t understand the “monstrously large” scope of the industry and its impacts on commu-nities, he noted.

establishing the industry comes with its challenges and issues, Wil-son noted, from the cyclical na-ture of building and operating that bring fluctuating populations, and increase demands on housing, and municipal water, sewer, road and waste services.

“All of these are job creators, all of these spin out into the local econo-mies, and all of these really provide an opportunity for British Columbi-ans to engage in long term employ-ment,” Wilson said.

Wilson later added there’s also an expected increase in demand for health and safety services, along with hotel supply, and food distribution.

After the meeting, George Katona of Alpha Safety Ltd. said the com-pany has no shortage of work for its staff medics and training instructors.

The business is currently running 10 of 18 medic trucks, and Katona expects to be running at full capac-ity soon, with a chance to add more.

“everybody needs a medic,” he said. Alpha also trains between 6,000 and 7,000 people a year in first aid, h2S safety, along with a number of other industrial and recreational courses.

“h2S… we hold three times a week, sometimes four. We could put

everyday classes,” Katona said.“We have the capacity to expand

and hopefully we can take advan-tage of that.”

Vancouver-based realtor Connie Kim said she was expecting more detail from the presentation.

“I already have a general idea from a lot of different press, I wanted more detail, what kind of industry, or what kind of companies, or what kind of opportunities (there are outside of LNG),” she said.

Kim said she has a number of cli-ents interested in scooping up resi-dential and commercial property in Fort St. John to develop housing and business opportunities as workers swarm to the region.

“You have more cars and more industry. I just came here to look around.”

Wilson was scheduled to meet with Fort St. John city leaders Tues-day afternoon. he will be in Dawson Creek today to meet with businesses and officials.

Matt PreprostStaff Writer

act quick on LNg, says ex-Lib leader

Gordon Wilson visited Fort St. John in February to trumpet the province’s LNG Buy BC program, created to link local businesses with job opportunities expected to flow from LNG development. MATT PreProST PhoTo

FoRT ST. john

R001697748


The Petroleum Services As-sociation of Canada (PSAC) up-dated its 2014 Canadian Drill-ing Activity Forecast, increasing its outlook on drilling to 10,930 wells across the country.

That represents an increase of 130 wells from the original fore-cast last october.

In British Columbia, drilling is predicted to rise to 560 wells this year, which is an increase of 10 from october’s original estimate.

The PSAC also estimates that 6,642 wells will be drilled in Al-berta, up by 87.

By type, 85 per cent of the wells across Canada are expect-ed to produce oil.

“We are adjusting our num-bers slightly upward due to stronger than expected activity

levels at the close of 2013, spe-cifically in central Alberta and various regions in Saskatche-wan,” said Mark Salkeld, presi-dent of PSAC.

“our forecast remains pretty constant year over year because we are seeing a continuing trend towards multi-well pads with multilateral and more complex completions, and we expect this trend to continue even beyond 2014 given that advances in technologies are making such wells more logis-tical and economical for the producers.”

The PSAC estimates are based on the assumption that average natural gas prices will be $3.50 mcf and crude oil prices will av-erage out at $95/barrel.


Drilling forecast to rise in B.C.in 2014

Matt laMers Photo

[email protected]

A new report from a Canadian en-vironmental group calls for the B.C. government to power its LNG produc-tion with renewable energy rather than fossil fuels.

“If the LNG companies and govern-ment choose to primarily power this sec-tor with renewables, then B.C.’s clean power industry is ready to deliver with a cost-effective product,” said Paul Kariya, executive director of Clean energy British Columbia, the group that wrote the report.

The report primarily focuses on the benefits these types of mandated renew-able energy changes would provide to northwestern B.C. and the LNG facilities located there.

Changing away from a fossil fuel approach “will increase regional per-manent employment related to LNG by 45 percent, decrease carbon pol-lution by 33 percent, reduce smog, and build the foundations of a renew-able energy economy in northwestern British Columbia.”

The changes would only increase the costs of LNG by about two percent, the re-port stated.

Merran Smith, a spokeswoman for Clean energy Canada, said that these types of changes would also benefit northeast-ern B.C., where natural gas is produced

before shipped off to become LNG.

“There are things we can do to help reduce that carbon footprint, and one of them is to electrify the Northeast,” she said. “one was just plugging the leaks. There’s a lot of old equipment up there; there’s new technologies now that are much tighter.”

Smith said that northeastern B.C. nat-ural gas industry could also benefit from increased use of wind power.

In the past, critics of wind power have pointed to the damage these installations can cause to birds.

James Glave, the communications di-rector for Clean energy Canada, pointed out an environment Canada study that showed that cats, window collisions, ve-hicles and transmission lines killed 95 per cent of birds. A WWF report also stated that global climate change could cause major global extinctions for birds.

Smith also said that while her group hadn’t officially crunched the numbers for increasing the amount of green electricity would mean for northeast B.C. jobs, she believed it would increase the amount of jobs present in the region.

“We can create more jobs, less

can lng go green?WILLIAM STODALKA

Staff Writer

pollution, and lasting economic legacy for the region if we required natural gas indus-try to use less energy,” Smith added. “It’ll really help B.C. get off that boom and bust roller coaster, and I think that applies to northeastern bc as well.”

Late last year, Clean energy Canada also called for other changes in B.C. LNG policy.

“We concluded that without policy leadership, made-in-B.C. LNG will not be the cleanest in the world but would in-stead emit more than three times the car-bon pollution of the current global gold standard,” their report stated. “We based our finding not only on the emissions as-sociated with LNG production, but on the full carbon footprint of the fuel they would produce - from wellhead to waterline.”

Zoher Meltralta, an LNG expert, concurred with many of the reports findings.

however, he felt that more than any-thing, the LNG industry needed more gov-ernment guidance.

“A lot of [the changes] will have to come from clear government direction,” Melt-ralta added

ENVIRONMENT


ChArLeS CooK PhoTo

R001697732

communicationTanner Walde thinks British

Columbia should forget about developing its vast reserves of natural gas.

“I think we’re at a point in the world where we need to be wor-ried, and consider the environ-ment for once over profit,” the 17-year-old said.

The resident of White rock, a suburb of Vancouver, said his po-sition is set in stone.

It’s a common refrain from Brit-

ish Columbia’s youth, especially those in the South.

only half of British Colum-bians are in favor of the gov-ernment’s plan to expand the development and export of liq-uefied natural gas, and 32 per cent are outright opposed, ac-cording to an Insights West sur-vey of 638 people, even though doing so could bring 100,000 jobs and add billions to the province’s coffers.

According to some polls, up-wards of 60 per cent of Brit-ish Columbians are against the construction of pipelines to get natural gas and bitumen to pro-posed export terminals in the Northwest.

opposition is staunchest amongst young people.

In recent years, the opposi-tion has been deteriorating somewhat, in large part because the industry and government have been putting more effort into getting their message to the public.

results vary greatly from poll to poll. In some cases, oil and gas clearly wins in overall public perception, but still finds a way to lose the policy war.

That’s the case so far for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in the United States. Despite a public approval score of 77 per cent south of the border, the mi-nority of Americans who oppose the pipeline have been in the driver’s seat.

Canada’s two largest pipeline proposals have the support of a majority of the country; energy east (57 per cent for, 25 per cent against) and Northern Gate-way (51 per cent for, 28 per cent against).

The national survey was con-ducted by CroP on behalf of the Atlantic Provinces economic Council, the Canada West Foun-dation, the Federal Idea and

the Mowat Centre in September 2013.

It’s a problem the oil and gas industry has been dealing with for years.

Gary Weilinger, Spectra en-ergy’s vice president of stra-tegic development and exter-nal affairs, said that winning the Pr war and getting a “so-cial license” is a priority for the industry.

“We can do a much better job for sure,” he said. “We need to do that outreach to help people un-derstand how they operate safe-ly and why they can live safely in harmony with pipelines in close proximity to their backyards. We need to do absolutely a much better job.”

one way Spectra is doing that is through the energy First pro-gram, which aims to make sure people have a much broader un-derstanding of how the company operates.

Weilinger said Spectra is mak-ing more of an effort to reach out to communities in an effort to be more forthright.

“Let’s cut through the rheto-ric and understand what the underlying issues are,” he said. “Yes, we’re going to have an im-pact. There is an impact by being there vs. not being there at all, but there are also ways of miti-gating those impacts.”

The federal government joined the fray last october when it


Matt PreProst Photo

‘We need to help people unerstand how pipelines operate safely and why they can live

safely in harmony with pipelines.’– Gary Weilinger


breakdownprepared a $24-million advertis-ing blitz to improve the reputa-tion of the oilsands.

A request for proposals issued by Natural resources Canada outlines the two-year program, which would target political, business and media leaders around the world.

“Canada has been, and contin-ues to be, the target of intense and sustained public relations campaigns by domestic and in-ternational organizations, criti-cizing our domestic natural re-source development policies and companies engaged in resource developments,” according to the Natural resources Canada document.

The Canadian Association of Pipeline Producers is on the front line of the Pr war.

David Pryce, CAPP’s vice presi-dent of operations, thinks it isn’t a matter of public relations as much as it is about access to information.

“I would frame that for me as ‘what do we need to do to get the public the information, and understand what’s being pro-posed, and how it could proceed

responsibly?” he said. “We’ll provide a voice into that, but other people need to provide a voice to being the credibility there in that as well.”

Pryce wants the academ-

ic community to get more involved.

“You get academic reports that come out about that and they don’t get communicated well ei-ther,” he said.

“So I think that’s the oth-er thing, not only who should do the work, but how do we get the information in front of people that are asking those difficult questions.”

CAPP has made strides to im-

prove transparency in the in-dustry, especially when it comes to hydraulic fracturing. “CAPP put out some best practices for fracking a couple years ago,” he said. “one of those practices

was the full disclosure of frack fluids the public is asking for. Why wouldn’t we do that? If we want that confidence, that social license, we need to do it.”

Former federal opposition leader Preston Manning has some ideas on how the oil and gas industry could improve com-munication with the public. he thinks petroleum companies should be straightforward about their interests.

“There is a lot of advertising that’s kind of funny, you know, ‘We’re out to make society bet-ter,’ and all of that is fine, but I think just being frank [is better],” he told Pipeline News North in a phone interview.

“I think a lot of industry adver-tising could be more frank. They tend to want to say they’re do-ing other good things. But really you’re in the petroleum industry. Why not just say it?

“‘If you don’t like gasoline, or you don’t like oil, or you don’t like what’s heating the fac-tory or the office you’re work-ing in, well maybe we’re not your people.’ ‘But if you need any of those, that’s what we do.’ You know?”

While environmental catas-trophes have damaged the in-dustry’s reputation in the past, Manning thinks that environ-mental protection and petro-leum development can oc-cur in tandem, not necessarily exclusively.

That’s a view supported by most Canadians.

See COMMUNICATION on PAGE 31

‘Let’s cut through the rhetoric and

understand the underlying issues.’

‘CAPP put out some best practices for fracking. One of those practices was the full

disclosure of frack fluids the public is asking for.’ — David Pryce


SAM BeeBe PhoTo

Matt laMers Photo

R001622840R003184226


JOBS from PAGE 15

Connecting immigrants with employers remains a challenge. That’s where the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. comes in.

In a world where the the hiring Assessment Tool Kit is fully implemented, the ISSBC will probably play an important role in connecting immigrants with either job assessors or potential employers.

“You have to have a partner, because it’s hard to find these peo-ple and it’s hard for them to find employers,” explained Steward. “Working with a partner like that is huge, not only in terms of find-ing the people, but also getting some insight into what kinds of assessment tools to use and they’re the ones who have the experi-ence with language proficiency and lining up english proficiency requirements with the occupation.”

Because all the jobs are in northern B.C., and the immigrants are in southern B.C., the team is developing a model so most of the testing can take place online and, if possible, face-to-face. ei-ther the assessor can go to the person or the person can go to the assessor.

She expects that the interviews would be conducted over the phone once the assessors are comfortable with the program “so it truly reaches across geographical distances.”

The hiring Assessment Tool Kit team will be ironing out the pro-cess through the end of February with an eye on an end-March rollout.


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LNg BooM wILL SPUR wagE gRowth British Columbia income to top Alberta’s from natural gas

Wages in British Columbia will exceed those in Alberta once final investment deci-sions are made and companies begin spend-ing billions of dollars on production centres, pipelines and liquefaction plants on the West Coast, said the chief energy economist at ArC Financial Corp.

In an opinion piece published in the Globe and Mail on Jan. 27, Calgary-based author and economist Peter Tertzakian noted that workers are already heading west as compa-nies have been cautiously increasing their ex-penditures in British Columbia’s gas fields to attract skilled workers.

There are about 20 LNG projects of all siz-es at various stages of development in the province.

Although none of the projects have made a final investment decision, many have been increasing spending in preperation.

employment patterns would roughly follow investment patterns.

The Globe and Mail article cited Statistics Canada data since 2001 that showed that weekly wages in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector rose the most in Al-berta, but lagged in B.C.

There are early signs that the gap is closing. From January to october 2013, wages in B.C. rose $250 a week.

In the piece, Tertzakian noted that Alberta’s

oilsands boom could be a sign of what’s to come in B.C.

A decade ago, he wrote, workers were paid $1,300 per week on average, but that rose sub-stantially, up 40 per cent by 2010.

Behind the increase was a nearly $100-bil-lion aggregate investment in the sector in that timeframe.

Tertzakian warns that the bigger paychecks will come with a cost.

The higher labour demand that drives up wages would also spur inflation, meaning workers will get less bang for their buck when they spend their wages.

Wages in British Columbia will exceed those in Alberta once final investment decisions are made and companies start

spending billions of dollars on production centres, pipelines and liquefaction plants.

LNG from PAGE 22

Importantly, the report also examines whether global demand for LNG can keep pace with sup-ply. It notes that demand is forecasted to rise from about 300 Bcf/day today to more than 500 Bcf/day by 2050.

For this outlook, CAPP considered two scenar-ios for Western Canada: The first is a constrained market and the second is global opportunity. The most significant difference, the report reads, is the latter assumes that by 2023, five LNG export trains will be in service on Canada’s West Coast, with each having the capacity to export five mtpa of LNG (or 0.7 Bcf/d per train).

“We think that’s a readily attainable num-ber,” said Pinney. “This report is two things. It gives people an update on a fast moving global market, but it also shows the reader how im-portant this is to develop a new market because it has a significant implications on the future production profile.”

“We’ve got tremendous resource potential, but we’ve got market constraints. We’ve got in-creasing competition in our traditional markets and the LNG market is a wonderful opportunity for us.”

Matt laMers Photo

Northern British Columbia and Alberta’s Oil and Gas Industry

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COMMUNICATION from PAGE 27

A poll conducted last year by Ipsos reid found that 66 per cent of the 2,008 Ca-nadians polled believe the country could increase its oil and gas production with-out creating significant environmental distress.

The environment is the top concern for Canadians when it comes to energy produc-tion, which helps explain the persistent op-position that pipelines and petroleum de-velopments often face in places like British Columbia.

Another poll conducted by Ipsos reid for Shell Canada found that the environment

ranked as the most important issue related to future energy needs (27 per cent), even higher than climate change (20 per cent) and price (20 per cent).

“The challenge,” Manning said, “is to con-vince the majority of people that if it’s done right and done responsibly, addressing en-vironmental concerns, then it’s in the inter-ests of the majority to allow those things to proceed.”

Mr. Manning also said that the best people to determine the outcome of the pipeline and LNG projects are British Columbians themselves.

“Ultimately it’s British Columbians them-selves that have to be convinced that this is

in their best interest. The more that’s done, the better.”

It’s not only private energy corporations that are trying to increase their profile in the public.

Paul Jeakins, commissioner and Ceo of the B.C. oil and Gas Commission, told PNN that his industry has expanded in the public consciousness over the last five years.

“I think it has been a natural evolution,” he said.

“I think it has expanded in the public con-sciousness over the last five years, but it doesn’t just turn on a dime. People are start-ing to talk.”

Support amongst British Co-lumbians for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline expan-sion surpasses opposition, ac-cording to a new poll.

Since Kinder Morgan filed its Facilities Application on Dec. 16, 2013 with the National energy Board, it has drawn considerable opposition from some communi-ties along the route.

Kinder Morgan, for its part, says it’s trying to work with the com-munities that could be impacted by the expansion of the pipeline, which stretches from near ed-monton to Burnaby.

The Insights West poll contact-ed 728 British Columbian social media users from Jan. 7 to Jan. 9 on the proposed expansion.

It is one of two major pipelines already crossing British Columbia that are planning to add signifi-cantly to their capacity.

trans mountain pipeline

burnaby

edmonton

Most of B.C. supports Trans Mountain pipeline: poll


The original pipeline was built in 1956 to transport crude oil from Strathcona County, near edmonton, to the Westridge Ma-rine Terminal, near Vancouver.

The Insights West poll found that 48 per cent of British Co-lumbians were in support of the proposed project, while 43 per cent were opposed to it.

It found that about 80 per cent of residents were aware of the proposed expansion.

however, the ratio of resi-dents who were undecided on pipeline increased from 3 per cent in January 2012 to 11 per cent in January 2014.

“As was the case last year, the Trans Mountain expansion remains a contentious issue across British Columbia,” said Mario Canseco, vice president of Insights West. “The pro-ex-pansion side is still ahead of the

anti-expansion side by just five points at the provincial level, but the proportion of residents who have not made up their minds has almost quadrupled.”

The proposed expansion would increase capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day and would require approximately 981 km of new pipeline to be constructed.

Support and opposition was correlated with demographics and geographic residence. only 39 per cent of Vancouver Island residents support the project, but that rises to 49 per cent of residents across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

Fifty-eight per cent of males polled said they supported the project, but support drops to 37 per cent for female residents of the province.

Young people are much less likely to support the pipeline. only 39 per cent of men and women aged 18 to 34 gave the pipeline the nod, but that rose to 55 per cent for those over 55.

Canseco wasn’t surprised by the results.

“The findings of this survey on the Trans Mountain Pipeline confirm what we learned on our recent research projects related to fracking and the Northern Gateway Pipeline,” Canseco said. “residents of Vancouver Island, women and the young-est residents of the province are more likely to look at energy projects with skepticism.”

Applications to participate in the National energy Board’s Public hearing on the project’s application were due on Feb. 12 and public hearings have already begun.

Support highest among older males, opposition highest among women

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Documents

Pipeline News North February 2014