Other Offshore Oil & Gas Studies

Recently, there is renewed interest in OOGD. OOGD, however, faces a number of issues including jurisdictional conflict between the Canadian, B.C., and First Nations governments, environmental risks, economic viability, regulatory gaps, and public opposition. The B.C. and Canadian governments have initiated their own separate reviews of the moratorium to assess these issues. The B.C. government review of the moratorium consists of the following.

B.C. Offshore Oil and Gas Task Force (OOGTF): The OOGTF was a B.C. government caucus committee appointed by the B.C. government to report on public views of OOGD. The OOGTF held public meetings and received more than 150 oral presentations and almost 130 written submissions. The OOGTF delivered their report on 15 January 2002. In their report, the OOGTF concluded that the following issues needed to be resolved before the · Resolution of ownership of offshore resources.government made a decision on the moratorium.components:

• Estimates of offshore resources.
• Processes for involvement of First Nations.
• Assessment of environmental impacts.
• Assessment of economic and social impacts.

B.C. Scientific Review Panel (B.C. SRP): The B.C. SRP was a three-person expert panel appointed by the B.C. government in 2001 with a mandate to review the following issues:

• Scientific and technological considerations relevant to OOGD.
• Further research that should be undertaken to advance the state of knowledge on scientific and technological considerations relevant to OOGD.
• Necessary government actions required prior to a decision on whether to remove the moratorium.
• Specific conditions or parameters that should be established as part of a government decision to remove the moratorium.

On 28 March 2003, the Canadian government announced a two-component process to review issues regarding OOGD. The first process was the creation of a federal expert panel (FEP), whose chair, Dr. Jeremy Hall, was appointed on 5 July 2003. FEP was managed under the independent auspices of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and completed its report in February 2004. The FEP mandate was to:

• Identify gaps in scientific knowledge that need to be filled before a decision is made with respect to the moratorium;
• Provide a workplan to fill any scientific gaps; and
• Identify sensitive zones requiring protection from any OOGD and other zones requiring special management measures.

The second process initiated by the federal government after completion of the phase one FEP scientific report is a public hearing process to assess public views on OOGD. A separate, special component of this process will be conducted specifically with First Nations. This process, under the chair of Roland Priddle, former chair of the National Energy Board, runs from January to June 2004.

In addition to the official federal and provincial processes, there are a number of other studies being undertaken on OOGD. These include:

• Western Diversification Office provided a grant to Royal Roads University to analyze social and economic impacts of OOGD. These studies were released in May 2004.
• A research program financed by the B.C. government being undertaken at the University of Northern British Columbia (U.N.B.C.).
• Studies being undertaken by the David Suzuki Foundation, which include completion of a report by Stuart Hertzog published in March 2003 on environmental issues associated with OOGD, and an ongoing monitoring and review program

B.C. OIL AND GAS - SUMMARY OF MAJOR RESEARCH INITIATIVES

INITIATIVE	RESPONSIBILITY	COMPLETION DATE
1. B.C. Caucus Public Review Process	B.C. government	15 January 2002
2. B.C. Scientific Review Panel	B.C. government	15 January 2002
3. Federal Expert Panel	Royal Society of Canada	February 2004
4. Federal Public Review Process	Canadian Government	June 2004
5. Social and Economic Impact Analysis	Western Diversification Office (contract to Royal Roads University)	May 2004
6. U.N.B.C. Research Program	Managed by U.N.B.C. (Norman Dale) and funded by B.C. government	ongoing
7. Hertzog Report	David Suzuki Foundation	March 2003