Seismic testing irks lakes' neighbours
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070830.ROSUM30/TPStor...
NORVAL SCOTT
August 30, 2007
CALGARY -- Calgary-based OSUM Oil Sands Corp. looks set to face more opposition to its controversial proposals to test for crude oil under two Alberta lakes, as a coalition of residents is planning to take its protests straight to Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach's door.
Earlier this month, Alberta regulators gave approval to privately held OSUM to conduct seismic testing at Marie Lake, 300 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
OSUM hopes the testing, which would evaluate the size of the region's crude reserves, will provide support for its proposed project that would extract 30,000 barrels of crude a day from under the lake via "shaft and tunnel" technology, which would access the oil with wells drilled from below the crude reservoir, rather than from above.
The proposals have sparked the ire of local residents, who say the seismic testing could damage the fish stocks and ecosystem of the recreational lake, while they are also concerned about the potential impact the proposed oil project - which still requires regulatory approval - could have on the area.
Opponents to the Marie Lake project say they will stage a protest at Mr. Stelmach's riding office in Fort Saskatchewan today, aiming to question him about the potential effects of extracting crude from under lakes.
They will be joined by residents from Crane Lake, also known as Moore Lake, who say they are opposed to OSUM's apparent plans to develop that water body. They only became aware of the plan on Sunday.
While OSUM's plans for Moore Lake aren't anywhere near as advanced as those for its Marie Lake project, the company, which acquired both leases last year, has included information about both holdings in presentations to investors at least since June.
OSUM wasn't available for comment. However, in a recent interview with The Globe and Mail, OSUM chief operating officer Peter Putnam denied that the company is doing anything "out of the ordinary," noting that seismic exploration has been carried out around 23 lakes in Alberta since 2002 without any issues being reported.
The company has also said that its shaft-and-tunnel drilling system would require fewer wells, leaving a smaller environmental footprint.
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton has said that the marine seismic testing at Marie Lake will have the strictest environmental and safety rules ever imposed for such programs within the province.
