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Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Scott Kent

Fracking go-ahead spurs fractured opinions

The Yukon government and opposition parties are voicing sharply divided views on hydraulic fracturing, revealing the controversial gas extraction method as a persistent political fault line in the territory.

By Christopher Reynolds on April 13, 2015

The Yukon government and opposition parties are voicing sharply divided views on hydraulic fracturing, revealing the controversial gas extraction method as a persistent political fault line in the territory.

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Scott Kent is unequivocal on the potential benefits of fracking and the key role First Nations would play in the lead-up to possible exploration or development.

“The Yukon Party stands for responsible resource development and a robust oil and gas industry, and the opposition parties clearly do not,” he said in an interview this morning.

Kent referred to the government’s announcement last Thursday that it will open the door to fracking proposals – for now, only in the Liard basin in the southeast corner of the territory.

“I think it’s important to be a net contributor to the country. We shouldn’t rely on the hard work of residents of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan,” Kent said.

“We need to step up and not let them do all the heavy lifting.”

Yukon NDP Leader Liz Hanson stated Friday afternoon she was “not surprised” by the decision to pave the way for fracking, but said it “exemplified how this government has misused the whole public consultation process.

“It’s been a clear agenda of theirs to open the territory to oil and gas and to fracking,” she told the Star.

Last January, a legislative committee issued 21 recommendations, which the government has accepted, in a report on fracking in the territory.

The select committee members suggested broader study of its potential impact, but were unable to agree on key issues like whether fracking should be permitted in the Yukon or can even be safely regulated.

Internal government documents released accidentally over the past month-and-a-half suggest the government was “moving forward” on “multi-stage horizontal fracking” and a “pilot fracing/science project (sic)” in the Liard basin.

Hanson said a lack of transparency is “reinforcing what is becoming a really deep-seated skepticism, which is becoming close to cynicism.”

Kent responded that it’s ironic for the NDP to accuse the government of taking a pre-emptive stand when “even during the select committee process, we saw a couple members of the Opposition attending and speaking out at some of the anti-fracking rallies.”

Kent emphasized First Nations’ participation in the resource development process, particularly if it would impact their traditional territory.

“The important aspect is that this practice in the Liard basin will only occur with the support of affected First Nations.

“We’re not just talking about consent,” he said. “The discussion has to be more broad than that to have real meaning.”

Liard First Nation Chief Daniel Morris did not respond to a call from the Star by press time this afternoon.

The pivot toward “government-to-government” consultation represents a shift from 2012, when the territory passed legislation that stripped the Liard First Nation — opposed to fracking at the time — of its veto over oil and gas development in the area.

Kent has reached out to the Ross River Dena Council, Northwest Territories’ Acho Dene Koe First Nation and B.C.-based Kaska nations, which all have traditional territory in the Liard basin.

Kent stressed the potential for jobs, royalties and the economic ripple effect of exploration and production down the line.

Roughly $45 million in royalties have accrued to the government since the 1970s from the Kotaneelee gas field in southeast Yukon, now back on the table as a conventional extraction site following a regulatory board decision permitting EFLO Energy Inc. to rework two wells and access untapped methane.

Kotaneelee — part of the Liard basin — has been the territory’s only producing gas field, beginning in 1979 and shutting down production in 2012.

EFLO asserted to the select committee last year its “dedicat(ion) to develop Kotaneelee because it has significant conventional and shale gas assets” over the next decade.

“We’re excited that we have the opportunity to bring some Yukoners that are working in this industry outside of the Yukon back home to their family and friends,” Kent said today.

Liberal Leader Sandy Silver sees things differently.

He underscored a lack of “social licence” from Yukoners and the years of data collection and scientific appraisal required before fracking could responsibly occur.

“A Liberal government could and would not issue permits for fracking given what I heard from academic experts, Yukoners, and First Nation governments,” Silver said Friday.

The Klondike MLA was one of six territorial politicians on the select committee investigating fracking.

Silver called the government’s turn toward a more First Nations-friendly approach “a significant flip-flop,” given that “the Yukon Party argued First Nation consent was not required to proceed” during committee discussions, he said.

Sebastian Jones, an energy analyst with the Yukon Conservation Society, called fracking in Canada “massively destructive and dirty.

“The government has taken a position so clearly antagonistic both to the recommendations of the select committee and the voices of Yukoners,” he said today.

He also noted the virtually unanimous opposition voiced by residents who attended the 13 public hearings in 11 communities and Whitehorse last year.

The government now plans to undertake the “first systemic attempt to characterize unconventional hydrocarbon resources in Yukon,” according to Don Murphy, head of regional mapping at the Yukon Geological Survey.

The plan entails installing more than 50 seismometers on top of the dozen or so already in place.

“We’ll be able to say whether or not the earthquake activity is due to the hydrocarbon activity,” Murphy said at a media briefing Friday, addressing one of the concerns around the environmental impact of fracking.

The strategy also involves following up on water quality data derived from two new hydrometric stations in place on Beaver and La Biche rivers, as well as accumulating baseline data figures on air, water, fish, wildlife and human health around the Yukon.

Plans for an economic study on hydraulic fracturing are also in the pipeline.

Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping pressurized water, sand and chemicals underground — usually about 2,000 to 3,000 metres — to release natural gas trapped within the shale rock.

Over the last 60 years, roughly 215,000 fracking wells have been drilled in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan.

See letters.

Comments (18)

Up 1 Down 1

You can't drink money! on Apr 19, 2015 at 11:20 am

All you people more concerned about money then clean water. How would you Feel if the water coming out of your taps was poisoned? I am all for resource development, jobs etc. but not at the expense of our clean water and environment. We need to be sure that this process is not going to harm the environment that we need to sustain life. Right now I don't have that comfort about fracking.

Up 17 Down 4

Canada has developed a jell type of material made from propane on Apr 18, 2015 at 7:32 am

Canada has developed a jell type of material from propane used in drilling. Also there is high pressure steam fracking which uses very little water. There is spider drilling, on and on. There is so much misinformation on drilling programs and flue, people in the Yukon are against fracking but don't understanding drilling at all but like to think they are the experts and know best.
Also they want to have Yukoners pay more for energy coming from Alberta or BC that comes from fracked wells in those provinces.
Export our wealth to Alberta or BC and not keep it for ourselve's and create good paying jobs for Yukon people.

Up 10 Down 0

north_of_60 on Apr 17, 2015 at 7:11 pm

@fuY
Google can become your friend and answer your questions.

Up 10 Down 2

its true on Apr 17, 2015 at 5:04 pm

@fed up yukoner...co2 can be used for fracking instead of water.

Up 8 Down 4

bill cuban on Apr 17, 2015 at 4:44 pm

@fed up yukoner
A little something to read. This technology has been used in Texas and other places where water is an issue. as with hydraulic fracking, it took baby steps from the old methods, as will this new method.

http://marchmontnews.com/Materials-Extraction/Features/19958-With-its-plasma-pulse-action-Novas-Sk-seeks-revolutionize-methane-production-.html

You never know what you will learn if you try hard enough.

Up 3 Down 20

fed up Yukoner on Apr 17, 2015 at 2:32 pm

What are these mystical "new" methods of fracking that don't use water? What does it use? Cause something has to maintain pressure to force the gas out, elaborate please, instead of making lame statements.

Up 27 Down 8

There are new methods of fracking that does not use water on Apr 17, 2015 at 12:41 pm

There are new methods of fracking that do not use water. Also I know drillers and I think your numbers are seriously off according what I was just told by drillers.

Up 8 Down 14

Buford Wilson on Apr 16, 2015 at 9:17 pm

Lake Simcoe in Ontario is another place to check with the people to see how happy they are with fracking. It takes something like 5 bbls of water to produce 1bbl of oil so you can see it doesn't take long to irrevocably screw up the whole water table. 6 cases of cancer last year in Ft.Chipewyan (pop 1200) which is just downstream from Mordor. The facts are undeniable with places like California begging for good water. Wake up people you only get one crack (no pun intended) at this straw grasp.

Up 27 Down 17

north_of_60 on Apr 15, 2015 at 5:11 pm

What the "anti-fracking" crowd wants is NO petroleum development in THEIR back yard because they happily enjoy the benefits from a petro-society. They like warm buildings, cheap transportation, abundant food, and plastic products... the list goes on. They like "fracking" as long as it's somewhere else.

So called "fracking" has become the scapegoat for every case of petroleum contamination for the past century. However, in nearly every case of groundwater contamination, detailed investigation shows that hydraulic fracturing is not the cause.

Criticism of "fracking" is miles wide and millimeters deep. Of course that doesn't matter to most people who get their 'education' from their Facebook friends. Facts are not important to most of them; it's only about what they 'feel'. Their minds are made up and they don't want any inconvenient facts confusing their preconceived notions.

Anyone opposed to "fracking" shouldn't be using any petroleum products in their lives, otherwise they would be nothing but greenwashed hypocrites.

Up 31 Down 16

Westofbelfact wells on Apr 15, 2015 at 4:44 pm

West of Bel Fast there are fracked wells west of Bel fast go check it out. Academic information is based on theory not in fact of the situation and show me all the disasters? So why do 370 million North American people support fracking? 10000 thousand jobs have been been created and over $80 billion dollars paid in taxes in this industry.

Up 15 Down 31

WestofBelfast on Apr 15, 2015 at 3:37 pm

Good For Yukon: "Mr. Silver what experience does academics have in drilling. The same as you? None? "

If you mean what experience do academics have in drilling, then maybe you need to think about the science and statistics around fracking...that is what academics and science has to contribute to the discussion...not to mention recent economics. Fracking is not proven as a viable means of extraction; it takes a hell of a lot of water to run the process, nobody is really sure of it's long-term impact on water tables, many similar projects in Canada and the United States have ended up in disaster, and recently the economic viability of resources gained by fracking has fallen into disfavour by both Canadian and international investors. Not good for the Yukon in my books.

Up 25 Down 26

wayne on Apr 14, 2015 at 7:09 pm

Anyone who thinks that fracking and or anything else to do with the gas industry is good should take a little drive to the gas fields of Ft Nelson and see what we will have in a few short years, some of those so called sumps are so bad that can't use the water to water the roads.

Up 172 Down 205

Good for Yukon on Apr 14, 2015 at 8:35 am

Mr. Silver what experience does academics have in drilling. The same as you? None?
MR. Silver what is social licence? If the First Nations agree to oil and gas development then that gives them a final say in the business.
NDP No Development. Please end of story. NDP is planning on developing a flower growing business in the Yukon and employ 700 people!
This is good news for the Yukon because it will give Yukon and First Nation people millions of dollars to invest into programs such as housing, sport complexes, infrastructure, lower taxes.
So do the Liberals think lowering taxes needs a social licence?
Do the NDP think lower taxes is a bad for the Yukon?
Who in the Yukon wants to pay more taxes thumbs up?

Up 42 Down 8

The Dude on Apr 14, 2015 at 6:13 am

“We’re excited that we have the opportunity to bring some Yukoners that are working in this industry outside of the Yukon back home to their family and friends,” Given that Eflo has their own crew, and that all work at Kotaneelee happens out of Fort Nelson and Ft. St John, this nifty sound bite rings a bit hollow. Seriously, in the big scheme of things, Kotaneelee is pretty darn tiny.

Up 30 Down 29

Ethics in Question, Knowledge too. on Apr 13, 2015 at 7:12 pm

“We’ll be able to say whether or not the earthquake activity is due to the hydrocarbon activity,” Murphy said at a media briefing Friday, addressing one of the concerns around the environmental impact of fracking.
Looks like we have the Earthquake possibility covered. What about carcinogens like benzene in the flare gas? What about methane and other chemicals in the ground water. Once that's toxified there's no recovery.
I wonder what the people in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Quebec would recommend about this fracking.
In order for first nations to vacillate on their fracking posision someone must have gotten to them.

Up 7 Down 17

greasy mcgee on Apr 13, 2015 at 7:03 pm

With oil prices being as low as they are, the Yukon is looking to lay off nearly every worker that goes into this and go into debt with the lack of worker efficiency and sure oil spillage all over. No Law.

Up 36 Down 32

Ethics in Question, Knowledge too. on Apr 13, 2015 at 6:50 pm

“The Yukon Party stands for responsible resource development and a robust oil and gas industry, and the opposition parties clearly do not,” he said in an interview this morning."
This from a Liberal turncoat. I wonder what they did to extract gas before fracking?

Up 40 Down 34

north_of_60 on Apr 13, 2015 at 5:30 pm

"Sebastian Jones, an energy analyst with the Yukon Conservation Society, ... noted the virtually unanimous opposition voiced by residents who attended the 13 public hearings in 11 communities and Whitehorse last year."

...the voices of unanimous opposition by SOME Yukoners, but not a majority by any stretch of the imagination.

Just because the same few misinformed, low information people come out to every anti-development protest and meeting, does not prove in any way that those few people represent the view of most Yukoners.

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