B.C’s Natural Gas Potential Higher Than first Thought
Victoria, B.C.- An assessment of the Liard Basin, part of which lies within B.C.’s borders, indicates the estimated natural gas in the BC portion of that basin is four times what was previously thought.
The assessment, published by Canada’s National Energy Board, pegs the estimate at 848 trillion cubic feet, previous estimates indicated there might be as much as 210 trillion cubic feet..
That new assessment boosts B.C.’s total natural gas potential to more than 3,400 trillion cubic feet. The report says if just 20% of the resource was extracted over the long term, it would be enough to operate LNG exports for more than 160 years.
Minister of Natural Gas Development, Rich Coleman says the report shows “our long-term prospects are stronger than before and that the Liard Basin can create economic activity and jobs in our province for a very long time to come.”
While there are several LNG projects in the works, there are still final investment decisions to be made, and environmental assessments to be approved.
Comments
So that means that our gas reserves could supply local natural gas electrical plants for the next 160 years, producing all the power we need at half the cost of Site C.
Sooooo. Why do we need Site C.?????
Hydro electric produces no Co2
And lakes don’t sequester CO2. And dams don’t grow food. And Site C is all about providing subsidized power to LNG companies and will raise rates for the rest of us consumers.
That is great news. Now shut down all the fracking going on in the province and how that is impacting surface water and the huge amounts of water being removed from the water cycle !
I noticed there was no name attached to this Christy Clark government blanket propaganda article designed to keep the LNG pipedream alive, and to support the lie in next year’s election!
ht tp://ipolitics.ca/2016/03/11/christy-clarks-lng-pipe-dream-is-falling-apart/
Sorry Christy, there is no future in fossil fuels, it is time for us to join the rest of the world as it moves towards the development of alternative energy sources.
Queue the same old, over used, industry talking points.
You’ve read Tony Seba’s latest book ? I’d like to see him do a seminar at UNBC but they seem to only invite people that burn things . Like James Moore burning up the democratic illusions of our young folks .
Good article JG , thanks . It always amazes me how full of it Clark and Coleman are . The Azores are only a few islands short of being completely off diesel and onto renewables .
Um JGalt we have hydro power for our main supply of energy so already there. No future for fossil fuels then how come its use increases each year. Just where do you get your information?
So Palopu you are okay with paying higher price for you energy, well I’m not. Must be embarrassing to note where ever hydro electric power is predominate prices are the lowest.
The only two people that have a lot of gas is Rich Coleman and Christy. The only thing that the Liberals are interested in is getting re-elected and are we stupid enough to believe in the BS they are feeding us-I hope not.
Once bit twice shy
The oil and gas industry is all around us!
Take a look! The clothes we wear! The paint we use! The plastics and synthetics that complete surround our daily lives.
The cars and trucks we drive, yes even the electric ones use petroleum products! Grrrrr, that must really upset you, right?
Even the computers that each and every one of us are using!
Hate the oil and gas industry? Good for you! Now, turn off that computer that you are currently using and never use it again! After all, many of it’s components are derived from the oil and gas sector!
I’ll take this opportunity to now say good bye to all of you who continuously condemn our energy sector as I’m sure that none of you will ever appear on this site again! After all, you wouldn’t want to be seen as a hypocrite for wasting electricity AND using plastics and other products sourced from the oil and gas sector!
Been nice knowing you! Goodbye!
The oil/gas industry will be around long after we are gone. With the billions of people on this earth you would be pretty hard pressed to move them around with electricity. Especially billions of cars, and millions of planes and ships. Not to mention all the oil (as suggested above) that is used for industry.
Try flying an electric jet, or get to the space station with an electric rocket.
We need to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while continuing to use fossil fuels, and looking for new ways to produce energy.
Seamutt. Not sure how you think that the rates for natural gas produced electricity would be more expensive than Site C. Are you not aware that the people of BC own the resources in BC. BC Hydro can contract the construction of these natural gas plants, and the BC Government can ensure that we get the gas to run the plants at a reasonable price.
Your suggestion that Site C is cheaper is bases more on wishful thinking than fact.
Palapu, perhaps you should read Whitcomb’s article in the citizen regarding so called Clean Fuels!
In it he compares the relative power output per kilogram of CO2 generated for the various methods of power generation.
Did you know that burning natural gas will generate approximately 4 KWH of electricity per kilo of CO2, whereas Hydro will generate 46KWH per kilo of CO2.
If we ship gas to China and they burn it generate electricity instead of burning coal they are reducing their CO2 emissions, while we are using the cleanest fuel available to us at this time. Hydro production is virtually pollution free.
Of course there is always the obvious…once a dam is built, the FUEL costs nothing! Build a gas plant, and you are feeding it fuel at world prices for every KWH of power that you generate!
In the end, if governmemt ever does decided to build gas plants rather than a hydro dam, i would vote for them to be built in the major population areas where the power is needed, that way they get the power, the CO2 and we don’t have to build new power lines!
You must own a gravel truck or two.
So if you are suggesting the government lower natural gas prices to compete with hydro electricity the gas producers most likely will not like that. In the same vain why not have the government lower natural gas, propane prices to make it economically viable for vehicles to switch. Hey take away road taxes, and hand out big subsidies for natural gas propane run vehicles. If Christy believed all c02 nonsense she would do that and cool the world by one millionth of a degree.
The CO2 debate is about burning fossil fuels, not about making crude oil being made into plastics in many forms! There is a huge industry that recycles plastics, thereby keeping them out of the landfill! Let’s keep the debate on track!
ya but you overlooked the part where all this evil c02 is produced acquiring and processing the evil oil and gas.
I think it’s obvious to most people that widespread destruction of the planet has to stop. Burning fossil fuels in any form is causing catastrophic damage to our only home in the universe. I don’t care how many jobs are lost because of it. Once the atmosphere is screwed…we’re ALL screwed.
Yes, change is difficult but it needs to occur or its lights out folks.
Mercenary, what is your job and should we care if you lose it?
Also, how do you heat your home, what do you drive, how do you get to and from home, or the grocery store for that matter? Speaking of groceries, do you buy groceries and other items that are shipped here by means of fossil fuels?
Do you take vacations away from home, perhaps to far away destinations and if so, how do you get there?
I guess that I’m asking how committed you are to preventing “catastrophic damage to our only home in the universe”?
Would you give up your job, your home, your lifestyle, your trips, your oranges from California or Florida?
What I do for a career is irrelevant. What I drive is irrelevant. In fact….what you do or drive or where you vacation is absolutely IRRELEVANT to the current situation. The facts are that pollution is greatly accelerating climate change. If we keep going down this path then there is no future for ANYONE.
You can sit around and point fingers at people and say how hypocritical they are for driving SUV’s or using computers and the internet…but at the end of the day…it doesn’t matter because the problem STILL EXISTS!
Or…perhaps your point is that there is no point in living in a world where we can’t drive our gas guzzling SUV’s around while industry continues to destroy the planet. Screw the future and the generations AFTER us because, after all, I’ll be long dead before the real consequences start to happen….
What are we going to do for jobs? Heck…I don’t know. How are we going to heat our homes? I don’t know. How are we going to be able to travel? I DON’T KNOW!!! But I do know that there will still be jobs….heat…vehicles….travel…and lots of other great things that we enjoy today if we figure out a way to slow down our widespread destruction of our world.
Actually Mercenary, what you do for a job is relevant. Especially when you don’t care how many other jobs are lost! What makes you and your job more important than someone else’s job?
I believe that each and every one of us should do our part to be more energy conscious! We should walk to the local store once in a while! We should organize our trips into towns so that we can reduce the number of times that we need to drive into and around town! We should shut lights off when we leave a room, turn the faucet off when we are brushing our teeth, turn the thermostat down a notch or two, after all every little bit that we can do to reduce our energy usage matters!
But, and it’s a big but, I refuse to buy into the crap that some people seem to be doling out, while they seem to ignore their own words and also seem to be getting very rich at the same time! Hmmmm, Suzuki, Gore, Neil Young come to mind!
You suggest that what you do for a career is irrelevant. What you drive is irrelevant. What I do or drive or where I vacation is absolutely IRRELEVANT to the current situation. You state that the facts are that pollution is greatly accelerating climate change.
So, what you drive is relevant! You may be contributing far more to the pollution that you suggest is accelerating climate change. If you are so stressed out, don’t drive, walk! Don’t fly to Mexico, stay home! Do as little as is humanly possible to not consume energy and to not contribute “pollution”! While you are at it, see how many of your friends are willing to join you in that venture!
Mercenary you seem to be confused about pollution and c02. Did you know that without c02 we die, and c02 is not a pollutant. Climate change is accelerating, show me the reproducable, verifiable science. Can you tell me why computer models on climate and real world data diverge so much?
Here’s some news for you science wiz. Too much CO2 causes us to die.Just like too little would cause plant life to die, in turn causing us to die. So within an acceptable range CO2 is not a pollutant. Outside that range, it can harm us whichis the very definition of a pollutant.
If you are always going to rant to be “shown the science” then maybe you should actually try using some yourself before making ridiculous assertions that CO2 is not a pollutant. Any gas that would not normally cause us harm can become a pollutant if the concentration we are exposed to gets too high.
So were do you get your misinformation, hope its not the CBC. A little about climatic history, c02 has been many times higher than now and plants just loved it.
Show me were any scientific body even the climate irrational ones have stated were c02 levels would get high enough to cause toxicity? Waiting. For you information there is not enough fossil fuels for c02 to get any where near that high. You do realize the any effects of increasing c02 is Logarithmic don’t you?
heck scientists haven’t even figured out the natural changes in climate let any mans influence of which if there is, is infinitesimal.
You maybe to young but back in the 70’s the scare was a new glaciation.
If they want to keep on fracking and destroy the ground water you will have nothing but a toxic wasteland. Then again you may find some employment building water treatment plants.
Fracking destroying groundwater, well even the EPA found no issue there.
Here is a good read
ht tp://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/03/16/the-ipcc-has-been-deceiving-the-public-about-the-carbon-cycle-from-the-start/
Wonder what Whitcomb would have to say.
Hart guy: I can guarantee that my job would be gone as well as billions of other jobs when the planet no longer is habitable for human life. I’ll be dead just like everyone else regardless if you believe the science or not.
Evidence is actually all around us here in PG too. Long gone are the winters with sustained -40 temperatures that we used to have for weeks on end. Our mild winters gave rise to the pine beetle epidemic and now we have to deal with a spruce beetle problem. Fire season starts earlier and earlier because our snowpack just isn’t there like it used to be. Drought conditions happen much more frequently here in BC and in places that rarely experienced them before.
You don’t need to be a scientist to see evidence right under your nose.
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