By Andrew Mayeda, Vancouver Sun, June 3, 2010
OTTAWA — The Harper government has watered down regulations governing oil drilling off Canada's East Coast so that oil companies don't need a backup plan to drill a relief well in the event of a blowout.
 Canada currently has four active offshore oil projects, all of them located off the coast of Newfoundland. The projects are regulated by a federal-provincial agency called the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. (Photograph by: Handout, Courtesy Steve Tizzard) |
OTTAWA — The Harper government has watered down regulations governing oil drilling off Canada's East Coast so that oil companies don't need a backup plan to drill a relief well in the event of a blowout.
Under the previous federal regulations, companies were required to develop contingency plans and have equipment in place to deal with a range of emergencies, including "a situation requiring the drilling of a relief well."
Canada currently has four active offshore oil projects, all of them located off the coast of Newfoundland. The projects are regulated by a federal-provincial agency called the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.
Previous board guidelines said companies were expected to identify a rig that can drill a relief well. Companies were also expected to provide details about the relief rig's "operating capability, its location, contractual commitments, state of readiness and the schedule for mobilization to the well site."
But under the new regulations, which came into force in December, companies aren't specifically required to have relief-well plans. Draft guidelines issued by the Newfoundland board do not contain a single reference to relief wells.
Many oil-spill experts believe two relief wells being drilled by BP offer the best chance to stem the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The relief wells are designed to plug the leak by pumping a special heavy fluid into the original well.
However, it is expected the relief wells won't be ready until August, forcing the company to attempt a variety of other leak-plugging techniques that have so far proven unsuccessful.
The Canadian regulatory changes are part of a shift from "prescriptive" regulations that require companies to have specific environmental safeguards in place, to "goal-oriented" rules that supporters say give companies more flexibility to adopt the latest spill-response technology.
But critics believe it is foolhardy to approve offshore projects without knowing exactly how operators would drill a relief well.
"Somehow we need to find a much better process for developing relief wells that are commonly available for a region and can be drawn upon when needed," Craig Stewart, Arctic director for World Wildlife Fund Canada, told the Senate energy committee on Thursday.
The National Energy Board (NEB), which regulates drilling off Canada's Arctic and West coasts, made similar regulatory amendments late last year.
In the wake of the Gulf Coast spill, the NEB cancelled hearings into its policy requiring companies to drill a relief well in the same season that they drill the original well. The board also declared a full-blown review of its safety and environmental-protection standards.
A spokeswoman for Natural Resources Canada, the federal department that sponsored the new regulations, referred questions to the board.
A board spokesman noted that "governments determine the regulatory approach," but said the board supports the proposed regulations as "an effective regulatory regime for improving safety and environmental protection."
"It is important to note that 'goal-oriented' regulation is not 'self-regulation' nor is it the 'absence of regulation.' It is simply a 'style of regulation' that includes a hybrid approach of prescriptive elements and performance based elements," spokesman Sean Kelly said in an e-mail.
Environmentalists are especially concerned about how Chevron Canada plans to drill a relief well at its new deep-sea project in the Orphan Basin, about 430 kilometres northeast of St. John's. At 2,600 metres below sea level, the so-called Lona O-55 project will set a record for the deepest offshore oil well in Canada.
BP's leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico is about 1,500 metres deep.
"There are only 50 other rigs worldwide that can drill as deep as that, and as one can imagine, they are in high demand," said Stewart.
Kelly said Chevron has two drill ships under contract to drill a relief well. He said the ships, which are currently operating in the Gulf of Mexico, would take 11 days to reach the Orphan Basin, "weather permitting."
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