Marc Durand July 13, 2024:
Irresponsible at all levels
A small group of promoters are encouraged and helped by irresponsible officials in Quebec (granting of permits at ridiculous prices, direct financial contributions from Investissement Québec, etc.). This is purely speculation because none of the wells drilled are profitable. The studies (2 BAPE + 2 ÉES) demonstrate that there is no possible profitability for society in Quebec in these projects from another century. In April 2022, the government takes a 180-degree turn and ends all new exploration development.
Apart from the prosecutions which are only a shameful temporary show off, the real problem remains the existence of drilled wells; a fractured well never disappears once drilled. It is impossible to return the massif to the state of very low permeability that it had in its previous state. Even when blocked or permanently closed, these wells deteriorate over time and the methane (and other compounds present) will find their way to the surface.
Of the two types of leaks, those that are in the well itself and those that migrate through fractures in the rock outside the well, the latter are difficult to assess and impossible to contain. “Permanent” closure work on a well can for a time reduce or stop the leaks that the ministry measures with the installation of flow meters at the vent, but it is for all practical purposes impossible to intervene on other leaks. , those which are around and between the wells. I indicate “permanent” closure with quotation marks, because we intervene to close a well only on a small section of its casing. The plug in the tube at depth, the welding of a steel plate on a casing sawn one meter below the surface, all covered with earth makes the visible part disappear. Once blocked, it can no longer be inspected or maintained; it corrodes. These fillings will only last for a while; Leaks will resume periodically after each repair repair.
Yvon Pesant, July 13, 2024:
It’s very good to come back to this subject that too many of us concerned people were very close to forgetting… or ready to forget, it depends.
Thousands and thousands of tons of methane gas going into the air every year because we let the gas industry drill and fracture shale gas wells all over Quebec.
In the depths of the woods, in the middle of cultivated fields or even within the urbanization perimeter (white zone) of a village as companies, governments of various levels and citizens saw it as a possibility of corporate enrichment , collective or personal. It’s according to that too.
We will remember “cash money!” », the cry from the heart of Ms. Normandeau, Nathalie of her first name, who as minister responsible for the PLQ, was ready to let the industry go as far as she wanted. But we should also not forget our Minister Charette of the Environment and our Minister Fitzgibbon of Energy, both still current, who worked hand in hand with the gas industry until, for reasons of non-social acceptability, our Prime Minister Legault decides to put the lid on the pot.
We still have to know if the pot in question is still on a stove that we would possibly be very willing to relight quietly, we are allowed to believe. We’ll see.
Serge Picard, July 13, 2024:
Predators loot legally
The predators of free enterprise who plunder our natural resources, who hide their profits in tax havens to avoid paying taxes, who change their names along the way to avoid the negative effects of their pollution against interest common.
This also includes the mining companies which leave the population with the bill for repairs who will have to pay billions to clean up contaminated sites.
Unfortunately, our laissez-faire governments do not show up and don’t care about citizens.
Quebec shale gas wells are still leaking methane by Alexander Shields, July 13, 2024, Le Devoir
Translation by Johanne Dion.
Shale gas wells drilled and fractured in Quebec still leak methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. The government is very much aware of the problem, but it is impossible to know when it might be resolved. The closure of the wells is suspended due to legal actions launched by the companies responsible for them, which are demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for the stop one gas exploration.
Because of a request for access to information, Le Devoir was able to obtain inspection reports and the most recent data from the Ministry of the Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE) regarding leaks at 18 shale gas wells that were drilled and fractured about 15 years ago.
Even though they essentially have a “temporary closure” status, all of these exploratory wells will have to be permanently closed because the Quebec government banned exploitation of shale gas.
However, not only are these are wells still not closed, but they are leaking methane. Analysis of the inspection reports obtained from the MEIE shows that several have been leaking significantly for years this greenhouse gas that is 28 times worse than CO2, 80 times more over a period of 20 years. Ministry data currently estimates the volume leaking daily at 122 m3, or approximately 45,000 m3 of natural gas per year.
Le Devoir submitted this data to the Chair of Energy Management at HEC Montréal, Pierre-Olivier Pineau. His calculations show these leaks are equivalent to 2.39 tons of CO2 per day, almost as much as the annual emissions of one car. Annually, that is just under 900 tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of around 315 cars.
“Fire hazard”
These leaks come mostly from 8 wells which were drilled by the industry that aimed to drill more than 20,000 in the St. Lawrence valley.
The most problematic well was drilled and fractured by Talisman Energy, an Alberta company which no longer exists since its purchase by the multinational Repsol. This single well, located in La Visitation, leaks nearly 17,000 m3 of methane into the atmosphere each year. As early as 2010, “gas emissions” were measured at 49 m3 per day by government inspectors, which continued even after “well repair” work.
Another well drilled by Talisman Energy, this time in Saint-Édouard, in Montérégie, also started leaking in 2010. In a 2019 report, a MEIE inspector again noted significant problems:
“There is a gas migration that represents a fire risk or other risks to the safety of people and property, and for the protection of the environment,” he wrote in his report. Daily leaks have since increased and have been observed at the wellhead and also around it. They are currently estimated at 36 m3 per day, or more than 13,000 m3 of methane per year.
A well drilled by Gastem in Saint-Louis-de-Richelieu, very close to a residential area, showed “low emissions” in 2010 and were not measured. But during a 2021 inspection, the inspector found a significant leak, observing a “gas emanation from a well represents a risk for the health and safety of people and property”. Today, this well leaks around 10,000 m3 of gas per year.
A closure at what price?
Member of the Scientific Collective on Shale Gas and Energy Issues in Quebec, Marc Brullemans is not surprised by the data in the MEIE documents. “Barely a year or two after the start of discussions on shale gas, so already in 2011, we had established at least a third of the wells were leaking,” he says. “And I don’t see why the leaks would stop on their own. ”
According to Mr. Brullemans, the ministry’s data does not include the full measure of the actual methane leaks, since the assessments are made at the well head, while leaks caused by fracturing can occur all around it. In some cases, the horizontal portion of the well, which has been fractured, can measure several hundred meters.
Anyone who has been monitoring the situation of these wells for several years fears what happens next. “As time goes by, I see two main problems as a citizen of Quebec. There are of course the ongoing leaks, with the risk of pollution. But also at stake, there is the the cost to stop the leaks and permanently seal the wells.”
The MEIE, which initially refused to send us the document on the volume of leaks, now wants to be reassuring. By email, they repeat that the amount planned for the closure of all wells that are not yet shut down, 62 of them, including shale gas wells, is 33 million dollars. The ministry also has in hand the closure plans of those responsible for these wells. “The measures included in these plans to remedy these leaks will be implemented upon their final closure,” it is specified.
But, adds the MEIE, the closure work is currently “suspended” due to legal action against the government .
Currently, 13 lawsuits have been filed by companies that held oil and gas exploration permits in Quebec and who consider 62 million in public funds in compensation insufficient.
They are demanding several hundred million, thinking that the rejection of exploration projects amounts to a form of expropriation. Many contest the constitutionality of the legislation that put an end to this controversial situation.
CO2 storage project
In accordance with the provisions planned by the government of Quebec, all shale gas wells must be shut down by the end of 2027, with the exception of those that could be part of a “pilot project to acquire knowledge”. Some wells could be used for carbon capture and storage projects.
The MEIE adds in a written reply, that an “authorization request” has been submitted to the ministry for “a pilot project for the geological storage of CO2”. But they refuse to give more details, simply stating that “the name of the company is confidential information”.
Oil and gas companies have still not claimed their compensation from Quebec by Alexandre Shields and François Carabin, February 22 2023, Le Devoir
Internet translation
Oil and gas companies that held exploration permits in Quebec have still not claimed the public funds offered as compensation, noted Le Devoir , even though the government put an end to this sector more than a year ago. They are banking on the 11 legal actions filed against the state to get their hands on hundreds of millions of dollars.
Since August 2022, promoters who held oil and gas exploration permits before this practice was banned can recover part of the sums invested in the search for possible deposits thanks to a compensation program .
Last year, the former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonatan Julien estimated the sums that would be spent by the State at “a little less than $100 million”, including $33 million for finance the closure of around sixty exploration wells. A “reasonable” amount, compared to the “Homeric” demands of the industry, he said.
However, companies have not said their last word. Despite the availability of the government program, none of the companies holding the 182 exploration permits revoked last year has made a request for compensation, the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Development confirmed to Le Devoir. Energy (MEIE). “No compensation was therefore paid,” wrote public affairs advisor Félicia Nicole.
Should we be surprised? Not at all, says the president and CEO of the Alberta company Questerre Energy, Michael Binnion. “My understanding is that all of the affected companies
are shit show lying polluting greedy inhumane bullies that do not deserve even a tenth of what they are demanding have challenged the law as to its validity,” he said in an interview.
Legal actions
There are 11 ongoing legal actions targeting the Quebec government and involving 16 companies, we can read in the court documents consulted by Le Devoir . Several of these actions directly challenge the constitutionality of the “Law primarily aimed at putting an end to the research and production of hydrocarbons as well as the public financing of these activities” (Law 21), but some also target previously established rules. to regulate oil and gas exploration.
In a case involving eight companies, it is claimed in particular that the government carried out a “disguised expropriation” by putting an end to the activities of this industry, which has given rise to heated controversy since 2010. At the same time, the ban on recourse is contested. to fracking in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. The companies are therefore calling for the suspension of Law 21, failing which they estimate that they will be entitled to claim “several billions of dollars” in compensation.
Other little-known companies in Quebec have filed actions on their own. This is the case of Altai Resources, which held five permits in the lowlands and which is demanding at least $72 million. Alberta’s Repsol Oil & Gas says it is entitled to $200 million, due to the impossibility of resorting to fracking. As for Pieridae Energy , it says it has been robbed of “several tens, even hundreds of millions of dollars”, due to a “government strategy” to put an end to oil exploration in Gaspésie.
After the tabling of the bill putting an end to hydrocarbon exploration in Quebec last year, the president of the Quebec Energy Association, Éric Tetrault , had already estimated at “3 to 5 billion” of dollars the “lost profits” in the oil and gas adventure. By promising $100 million, Quebec is “unjustly enriching itself,” Michael Binnion adds today.
“It’s different from Anticosti Island, for example. […] [where] the government paid an amount that far exceeded the cost,” he observes. After launching a state-funded oil exploration project in 2014, the government finally closed the door after carrying out some exploratory drilling. This saga still cost him $92 million , including $62 million in financial compensation paid to five companies.
Given the uncertain energy context in Europe, Michael Binnion also asks François Legault ‘s government to “reevaluate” its options. “Otherwise, we believe the government should pay,” he maintains. The bill adopted in April 2022 to revoke all exploration permits in Quebec, however, aimed to limit actions. The law therefore now indicates that “the revocation of licenses and authorizations […] does not give right to any other compensation, compensation or reparation, in particular by way of damages, than those provided for by the compensation program”.
Company choice
Lawyer for the Quebec Environmental Law Center, Marc Bishai believes that the Quebec government has all the legitimacy necessary to put an end to the oil and gas sector without bowing to the demands of companies.
The organization has also requested the right to act as an intervener in cases before the courts. “We want to put forward an environmental citizen perspective to remind us that a societal choice was made and that a law was adopted by the National Assembly within the framework of its powers. We must maintain the validity of this law to protect the capacity of the National Assembly to adopt laws in the collective interest and to respect the choice that was made, in the wake of enormous mobilization,” he said. to be worth.
In an interview with Le Devoir last year , Minister Julien said he did not want to “wait forever” for Quebec to definitively resolve the matter. The new law will produce results within five years, he said. For the moment, however, the ministry is not putting pressure on developers. Questioned on this subject, the media relations manager of the MEIE confirmed that no deadline would be imposed on them for them to appeal to the compensation program. No negotiations are underway either.
In 2012, following the adoption of a law that revoked oil and gas exploration permits in the St. Lawrence River and estuary, the American company Lone Pine filed an action against Canada in under the investor protection provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement in order to obtain compensation of nearly $150 million for lost profits from potential exploitation. This request was rejected in November 2022.
Guy Mathieu, February 22, 2023:
Medals
We should give them medals every year at the national assembly as enemies of Quebec, brown paper medals.
Refer also to:
2024 11 11: Prof. Bob Howarth @profbobhowarth.bsky.social:
… The media has failed in getting the message out to the US public about the climate crisis. People are already dying, damages to property are huge & are driving up insurance (“inflation”). It’s going to get much, much worse.
Cartoon: The Fudge Store:
“It’s not a candy store … it’s an accounting firm!”
2024: Jeremy Hsu@jeremyhsu.bsky.social:
US dependence on natural gas is a major risk as much of the US faces an Arctic blast and more winter storms. In past storms that “jeopardized grid reliability” and sometimes led to blackouts, gas power plants failed at a disproportionately high rate. www.newscientist.com/article/2411…
2016: Title slide of Ernst presentation in Montreal, Quebec with quote from Bolivian Repuglic of Venezuela Ambassador’s letter inviting me:
“we recognize [fracking] is one of the most serious environmental problems that faces humanity today.”
2015: Did Talisman Terry’s Demise Foreshadow the Demise of Talisman Energy?
2014: Action needed on abandoned energy wells leaking methane in Quebec
2014: How low will the con go? Questerre Energy CEO Michael Binnion pitches fracking in Quebec
Sour gas, H2S, damages the brain even at very low concentrations.
2012: Talisman pledges $1.25 M to Mount Royal University The company sleazily announced this after it was made public I was presenting there.
2012: EPA Fines Talisman Energy For Fracking Violations
2012: Public vs. corporate rights: NAFTA Chapter 11 invoked in Quebec fracking decision
2012: Ottawa sued over Quebec fracking ban, Smacked by U.S. NAFTA Lawsuit on Fracking
2012: Quebec government hints at long-term fracking ban
2012: Questerre says won’t be affected by stricter Quebec fracking ban
2012: Alberta companies critical of Quebec minister’s stance on fracking
2012: Fracking banned by Quebec government
2012: Smart Quebec farmers! Fracking tour fails to sway Quebec farmers
2012: No fracking, even for research, recommends Quebec committee report
2012: Farmer’s well water contaminated with methane in Quebec after nearby shale gas well leaks:
Slide from Ernst presentation a few years later in Montreal Quebec showing my frac’d by Encana well water on the right and the Quebec farmer’s on the left.
2011: Talisman’s chief issues VOLUNTARY!! best-practices blueprint to drilling industry
2011: Talisman Energy drops dino-themed pro-fracking colouring book on outcry
2011: Quebec ban leaves shale gas drillers staggering
2011: Talisman Energy Shelves “Friendly Fracosaurus” Coloring Book After Colbert Smackdown
2011: Groundwater contaminated with shale gas found in Quebec
2011: Leaking Energy wells in Quebec keep on leaking
Slide from Ernst presentations:
31 new gas wells inspected in Quebec,”more than half have problems”
“Alberta-based Talisman Energy owns 11 of the wells…spokesperson Hope Deveau-Henderson said leaks are a common occurrence…they are a normal part of the exploration process.”
1993: Husky study: 46% of energy wells tested had gas migration
Slides above from Ernst presentations