ERCB recommends large-scale approvals
Rules would focus on hydro-fracking developments
Alberta’s energy regulator is seeking public input on new rules designed to address the oil and gas industry’s growing use of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, in large-scale, manufacturing style developments.
A discussion paper drafted by the ERCB would require companies to seek regulatory approval for entire developments, rather than submitting applications one well at a time, when proposing large-scale unconventional resource developments.
ERCB spokesperson Bob Curran said regulatory solutions for unconventional resource development would have to apply to an entire play, satisfying specific environmental, economic, and social requirements.
“What we’re trying to do is ensure that when an operator goes into an area, we’re notifying the local community and those who may be affected by the development of the whole breadth and scope of what they may expect to see in that area,” Curran said. Fracking involves injecting highly pressurized water and chemicals into the ground to fracture bedrock to allow natural gas or oil to be more easily extracted.
While the technology to develop unconventional resources such as shale oil and shale gas isn’t new, Curran said the scale of such developments could become much larger in the future.
“To date, we haven’t seen the largescale commercial development that other parts of North America have seen,” Curran said.
“This is an opportunity to review our regulatory framework and make any changes that we identified so we can stay ahead of the curve,” he added.
Simon Dyer, policy director with the Pembina Institute, said he’s pleased the ERCB has acknowledged that unconventional resource technologies are not the same as traditional oil and gas drilling.
“These forms of development are more intensive and as a result of this, managing them on a well-by-well basis is not appropriate,” Dyer said. “The acknowledgment that there needs to be a play-based approach, that we need to consider the regional impact, is a significant change and I think that’s good.”
Unconventional resource development technologies have proved controversial. Fracking, for example, has been linked to groundwater contamination and is acknowledged to cause small earthquakes.
The ERCB says approximately 17,000 wells in Alberta have been stimulated through fracking since the technology was first introduced in the 1950s — 5,000 of those since 2008.
While Curran said Alberta’s existing regulations are already designed with risk management in mind, a new approach would make the process more transparent and ensure all stakeholders know what’s going on.
“It’s a broader scope than what we currently have in place,” he said.
Travis Davies, spokesman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the industry is moving toward more multi-pad horizontal drilling and an increased use of hydraulic fracturing, so the ERCB process makes sense.
“As resource development evolves, it’s appropriate that the regulators do also,” Davies said. “Our concern would be if the regulator wasn’t keeping up with advancements in the way we develop these resources.”
Feedback on the discussion paper will be accepted until March 31. More information is available at www.ercb.ca