Protecting the environment and water ranked highest in a report on how to develop coalbed methane in Alberta.
Mary Griffiths, a member of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Committee that prepared the report, said government, industry and members of the public all flagged water and environmental protection as key when developing rules and regulations about coalbed methane extraction.
“I was really pleased protect the environment was the top 10 recommendations,” said Griffiths, who is an environmental policy analyst with the Pembina Institute.
Drilling for natural gas in coal seams or coalbed methane as it’s often called, has the potential to surpass production from conventional oil and gas drilling. It’s estimated that 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are contained in Alberta’s coal seams, but it’s not known how much is recoverable.
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At the end of 2004, 3,575 coalbed methane wells were operating in Alberta. They are regulated by provincial oil and gas regulations, but critics, who point to environmental problems in the United States with coalbed methane development, say special regulations are needed.
Water is landowners’ major concern with coalbed methane. Many coal seams are filled with water and coalbed methane can be released only by removing the water to change the pressure. In the U.S., large aquifers are drying up because of the large amount of water pumped out to release the underground gas.
The preliminary report features more than 40 recommendations, including a top 10 list. Albertans have until the end of September to comment on the report before it is revised and sent to the provincial government later this year.
Griffith said questions remain to be answered, such as how to protect sensitive areas of the province, whether drilling should be restricted in some areas, what is the cumulative effect of pumping water out of wells and what will be the impact on non-saline water.
Many of the top 10 recommendations highlight the need for more study, clear rules and appropriate compliance with the rules.
“There is a recognition there that people are concerned,” said Griffith, who added it was a good sign that agreement among industry, government and public representatives on the committee, as well as those who made presentations, was unanimous on most points.
The Pembina Institute opposed the proposed royalty reduction for coalbed methane pilot projects, mainly because many projects have already gone ahead without one.
