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Oil and gas survey to take off |
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Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
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Tuesday, 08 July 2008 |
(Photo courtesy http://www.geosciencebc.com/s/Home.asp)
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A $2.5 million survey to collect seismic data on the potential of oil and gas deposits south of Prince George in the Nechako basin is going to be undertaken, Geoscience B.C. said Monday.
The seismic survey is the first in the area since a program was carried out in the early 1980s by Canadian Hunter.
Geoscience B.C. -- which was seeded by $20 million from the provincial government -- has initiated a number of programs to increase the knowledge of the petroleum and mining potential in north and central B.C. The region is the heart of the mountain pine beetle epidemic and is forecast to see a drop in forestry jobs in the wake of the timber supply decrease from the epidemic.
"The data collected during this survey will provide information for Geoscience B.C. and its partners to design new seismic and other geoscience projects in central B.C.," said Lyn Anglin, president and CEO of Geoscience B.C.
"The data will assist in determining the petroleum potential of the Nechako basin which at present is not well understood," she said.
Most of the massive interest in oil and natural gas exploration in British Columbia is focused in the northeast section of the province.
The industry has not written off the Nechako basin -- which has seen exploration between the 1930s and 1980s -- but more information is needed to pinpoint areas of interest for oil and gas companies, explained Anglin.
The seismic survey -- which began last week -- will also simply provide more data on the oil and gas potential in the region, said Anglin.
The area's potential has been earmarked by the province -- which would like to diversify the region's economy in the face of the beetle epidemic -- but the findings of Canadian Hunter's work in the 1980s was not promising.
Anglin said they are hoping that the technology advancements since then will help provide better information. The area has a complex geology and also includes new volcanic rock which can make it difficult to undertake seismic work.
The project will survey about 350 line kilometres of new data, about one third of the amount surveyed by Canadian Hunter.
The area is largely contained within the Nazko First Nation's traditional territory, the company doing the survey, CGGVeritas of Calgary, is providing training and employment opportunities to some members of the Nazko First Nation.
Geoscience is contributing $2 million, while the Northern Trust is putting in the remaining $500,000.
The Northern Trust, created with money from the $1 billion sale of B.C. Rail to CN, is using money from its pine beetle recovery account. "Our communities are very optimistic that the half million we have invested to enlarge this survey will result in exploration and diversification opportunities for companies hit so hard by the forest industry downturn," said Northern Trust chair Bruce Sutherland.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 July 2008 )
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