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18 August 2010
Ottawa, August 18, 2010 – As a consequence of
concerns expressed by Canadians following the recent disastrous BP
incident which spewed millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of
Mexico, the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and
Natural Resources conducted 6 weeks of fact-finding hearings to
determine the actual status of Canada’s offshore drilling operations.
The goal was to establish whether there is an imminent risk to Canada’s
environment from subsea oil and gas exploration activities off Canada’s
three coasts (Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic). This special study included
a review of Canada’s federal and provincial regulatory regimes
governing Canada’s offshore oil and gas exploration and development
industry. The committee today tabled its report Facts
do not Justify Banning Canada’s Current Offshore Drilling Operations: A
Senate Review in the Wake of BP's Deepwater Horizon Disaster.
There is only one drilling project presently being carried out,
namely, the Chevron Lona O-55 exploratory well being drilled in the
Orphan Basin of the Atlantic Ocean, some 430 km northeast of St-John’s
Newfoundland. There are no offshore operations off Canada’s Pacific
coast or in its Arctic waters. There are, however, some active oil and
gas development operations being carried out off the coast of
Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. The committee also found that
Canada’s federal and provincial regulatory regimes work well, and are
continually improved based on experience such as the BP incident.
Accordingly, the committee concluded in the absence of evidence to the
contrary, there is no justification for a temporary or permanent ban or
moratorium on current Canadian offshore operations. The committee,
however, did conclude that any future offshore drilling operations
authorized to take place in Canadian waters, especially in the Arctic,
will need to be carefully regulated and controlled, taking into
consideration lessons learned from the BP incident and the National
Energy Board Regulatory Review presently being carried out.
In keeping with its commitment to establish a framework for a more
efficient energy system for future generations, the committee made six
recommendations in its report to stimulate discussion in order to find
the best path forward to a secure, competitive and sustainable energy
future. These recommendations include:
· Exploring in
greater detail the structure and role of the offshore petroleum Boards
to determine whether there may be in fact a material conflict between
regulatory roles.
· Greater
collaboration between all those responsible for responding to an oil
spill in developing, preparing and practicing in advance of an event.
· That all offshore operators be required to organize Tier Three spill response tabletop drills at regular intervals.
· A comprehensive
review of the issue of liability, including whether the thresholds
should be adjusted to reflect current economic realities.
“Our committee has conducted these hearings to educate and inform
Canadians about offshore drilling and exploration in Canada. Canadians
are questioning whether we have sufficient regulatory and other safety
regimes in place to minimize the risk of a similar disaster in Canadian
waters. Based on the evidence we have received from a number of
witnesses involved in regulation and industry, the committee was assured
that Canada’s current legislative and regulatory regime is among the
most stringent and innovative in the world,” said Senator W. David
Angus, Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and
Natural Resources.
“The committee learned that Canada has a goal-oriented regulatory
approach which avoids setting ceilings for standards and that technology
continues to improve in the offshore industry. These factors should
help to minimize the risk of repeating past incidents,” said Senator
Grant Mitchell, Deputy Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, the
Environment and Natural Resources.
The committee held nine hearings and heard from 26 witnesses.
Testimony has been heard from many different stakeholders including the
Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board; Canada-Nova
Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board; the World Wildlife Fund Canada; Natural
Resources Canada; Chevron Canada; the National Energy Board; the
Eastern Canada Response Corporation; the Canadian Coast Guard; Husky
Energy; Encana Corporation; the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers; and the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia.
For further information or for a copy of the report visit the committee website at: www.senate-senat.ca/eenr-eern.asp.
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