German politicians have approved a law that bans fracking, ending years of dispute over the controversial technology to release oil and gas locked deep underground.
The law does not outlaw conventional drilling for oil and gas, leaving it to state governments to decide on individual cases.
But fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, which blasts a mixture of water, sand and chemicals underground to release shale oil and gas, will be banned.
Only a handful of projects for scientific or non-commercial purposes are likely to meet the conditions.
Internal documents show B.C. Hydro officials have had concerns since at least 2009 that earthquakes triggered by fracking are a potential risk to its Peace River dams.
August 16, 2016 - The electricity-generating dams in northeastern B.C. include one of the largest earth dams in the world, the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, as well as the smaller Peace Canyon Dam, and the $9-billion Site-C dam, which is under construction.
The Crown agency has not discussed the issue publicly.
Northeastern B.C. sits on an ocean of natural gas. But so do Montana, North Dakota and New York State, so the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian gas.
That’s why the B.C. government put so much energy into opening up new markets for B.C. gas in Asia in its bid to to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.
But one by one, LNG proposals have been falling like dominoes as companies have shelved or deferred projects.
July 19, 2016 - The province has approved $120-million in tax breaks to 10 energy companies in exchange for continued spending on developing the industry’s infrastructure in northeastern British Columbia, Natural Gas Development Minister Rich Coleman said Tuesday.
Companies involved, which include Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Chevron Canada and the Cutbank Ridge Partnership — a joint venture of Encana Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. — are expected to spend $185 million on 15 authorized pipeline or road-building projects.
LNG Canada joint venture participants – Shell, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation and Kogas – have decided to delay a final investment decision on LNG Canada that was planned for end 2016.
How a discovery in South China Sea fuels further doubt around BC's stalled natural gas dreams.
Over the last few years, China has annoyed some of its neighbours by dredging islands out of the South China Sea and claiming the whole region as its property. These steps have not much alarmed the West, apart from a few pundits looking for the Next Big Enemy.
June 27, 2016 - If you ask the premier of British Columbia, Canada's largest resource project proposal now has a green light from the five First Nations groups it was legally required to consult.
The massive $36-billion liquefied natural gas terminal proposed by Pacific Northwest LNG already earned signed agreements (or preliminary agreements with conditions) from four of the five bands on BC's far northwest coast. It just needed consent from one more.
For more than 5,000 years, First Nations people have collected plants and harvested red cedar on Lelu Island, which sits where the Skeena River meets the Pacific Ocean near Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia.
Even a few short months ago, the idea that Alberta would be considered ahead of its neighbour to the west when it comes to environmental stewardship would have been laughable.
