The joint project between Athabasca Oil Corp and PetroChina has been approved, with conditions, by the Alberta Energy Regulator.
The project opens up the opportunity for PetroChina to assume full control at a cost of $1.3B.
The conditions are related to environmental goals and land use of the site northwest of Fort McMurray, and some of them include:
- A leak detection and repair system be implemented
- Vapour Recovery Units that will help reduce hydrocarbon emissions
- Developing a protocol for responding to odours, which includes investigating the source of the odour, alerting communities near the site, dealing with whatever is causing the odour, and monitoring to confirm that the source of the odour has been addressed
- No continuous flaring with the exception of pilot and purge gas
The project was protested by the Fort McKay First Nation, who couldn’t come to an agreement with the company on the buffer zone.
The First Nation wanted a buffer zone of 20 kilometres, to protect some of its traditional hunting grounds.
But in its report, the AER concluded “that the positive economics of the Project and the magnitude of the benefits provided to the people of Alberta as a whole, when balanced against the negative effects that might occur, demonstrate that the Project is in the public interest.”
Though the report recognizes that there will likely be a negative impact on the wildlife habitats and animal species, it says the project covers only about one percent of the First Nation’s traditional land.
The company says it plans to work its way up to producing 250,000 barrels per day, with it reaching up to 50,000 bpd in its first phase.
August 6, 2013
