Brad Hope, spokesman for SOS, said a public meeting will be held Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Princeton Seniors Citizens Hall to discuss the prospect of coalbed methane wells in the area.
Hope said many people question why Princeton would allow coalbed gas drilling, suggesting the environmental impact isn‘t worth the small number of jobs created.
“They drill many more wells for coalbed methane than they do for conventional oil and gas,” he said. “So there‘s all these roads and big compressors.”
The impact on water supplies is the main concern, he said.
The upcoming meeting is designed to present first-hand knowledge of the impact of coalbed methane wells in Alberta. Many people claim methane released by the process can migrate underground and impact other nearby aquifers and wells.
Guest speaker will be Fiona Lauridsen, a farmer from Rosebud, Alta. northeast of Calgary. Lauridsen has been a vocal opponent of coalbed methane wells after experiencing problems with her home‘s well water in 2005. Her eyes burned in the shower and her skin turned red.
Last year, the provincial government introduced legislation requiring water pumped from coalbed methane wells in B.C. to be reinjected underground to levels below nearby domestic aquifers.
However, Hope said some experts say the impact of such a practice is unknown.
“We‘ll keep fighting to keep it closed, while we educate everybody in town,” he said.
Hope said SOS has also communicated with coalbed methane opponents in Telkwa, Smithers, Fernie and elsewhere in B.C.
Gregg Smith, vice-president of Canadian operations with Petrobank, acknowledged the community has a lot of questions and concerns about the project, but said the company isn‘t trying to hide anything.
“Our goal here is to be as totally up front and transparent as possible,” he said. “We have no interest in drilling in the community until the full story has had a chance to be put forward.”
Smith said results from the first test well were “encouraging but sub-economic.” As a result, Petrobank is trying to determine what technological methods would be required to produce enough methane gas.
It now wants to drill two more test wells in different parts of the basin Ð one north and one south of Princeton Ð using different technologies to further evaluate the viability of the project.
Smith said the tests will also determine how many wells would be needed in the operation.
“If the density is too high, in terms of the number of wells required, then the project is uneconomical,” he said. “There‘s not going to be enough gas to be recovered out of a single well.”
Smith said he considers 60 wells to be too many for the project to proceed.
He also emphasized all environmental precautions are being taken. The aquifer and domestic water wells are protected at the drill site by two layers of stainless steel well casing and two layers of thick cement barriers. This protects water in nearby aquifers from water extracted with the coalbed methane.
Smith added the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission‘s mandate includes ensuring that environmental standards are met in any energy project. There are currently no commercial coalbed methane wells in production in B.C.
Meanwhile, Petrobank has held its own forums in Princeton. A daytime open house in April attracted about 50 people. Another open house, including an evening session, is planned for a future date. The company has also attempted to answer concerns through newspaper ads.
