Quebec going ahead with shale gas development: deputy premier Montreal Gazette September 14, 2010 4:02 PM
MONTREAL ? Quebec will not put the brakes on development of the shale-gas industry while it is being studied for its environmental impact, Deputy Premier Nathalie Normandeau said Tuesday.
The environmental group Equiterre said Quebec should put a moratorium on any shale-gas work until more is known about how it could affect Quebec's plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions. The group says further study is needed to determine the impact shale gas could have on sustainable development and agricultural land, and whether there would be economic benefits.
"There's no rush," said Equiterre deputy director Steven Guilbeault. "The gas is not going anywhere. It's not going to evaporate. It's not going to migrate to some other provinces or U.S. states. It's going to go stay there.
"What's wrong with taking six months or a little bit more to study this thoroughly?" But Normandeau, who is also the natural resources minister, said Quebec can't put moratoriums in place every time someone wants to develop a natural resource. Quebec has been clear about its plan to develop natural gas since it adopted its energy strategy in 2006, she said.
"We don't want to develop it at any cost, though," Normandeau said in an interview, adding that citizens have to be informed and that environmental considerations have to be taken into account.
In a report made public Tuesday, Equiterre said producing shale gas will make it hard for Quebec to meet the ambitious greenhouse-gas reduction targets it set for reducing emissions 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.
Elsewhere, natural gas can replace "dirtier" fossil fuels with higher greenhouse gas emissions, like coal. But in Quebec, only 4.4 per cent of Hydro-Quebec's energy production comes from fossil fuels, the report says.
But Normandeau said that petroleum accounted for 38 per cent of Quebec's energy needs in 2008, and that replacing it with natural gas will reduce emissions.
Equiterre sees potential in switching heating systems ? which is generally run on oil in Quebec ? to natural gas, but the group said it didn't have enough information to properly analyze the issue.
"We are not opposed to natural gas, but there are lots of unanswered questions that the industry and government should provide answers to," Guilbeault said. "Right now, it's impossible for us to see how (shale gas) could play a positive role in Quebec." The environment ministry plans to have experts study the greenhouse-gas emissions of shale gas, a spokesperson for Environment Minister Pierre Arcand said.
"The industry only plans to begin commercial production in 2014, so we have time to evaluate what the actual greenhouse gas emissions are," Sarah Shirley said.
Oil and gas companies have drilled experimental wells between Montreal and Quebec City, where a large deposit of natural gas is believed to be located in the Utica Shale, which stretches into New York state Ontario.
Shale gas is a natural gas that was previously hard to get out of the ground. New drilling techniques have enabled companies to drill deep into the rock, and horizontally inject water, sand and chemicals, creating tiny cracks that allow the gas to escape.
The prospect of Quebec becoming a major natural-gas producer has drawn criticism from a variety of sectors, including municipalities that have passed bylaws prohibiting shale-gas drilling, environmental groups and former provincial environment minister Thomas Mulcair, who said the way the government is handling the issue is "scandalous."
Normandeau said it is clear people want "credible, objective" information about shale gas, and that the government is preparing a website that should be up sometime this month.
MPO Price at posting:
$1.10 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
