Five Years Before Serious Effort To Drill For Gas In Nechako Basin

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. -The General Manager of Surerus Pipelines Inc., one of the largest pipeline companies in BC, Steve Thorlakson says there is definitely gas in the Nechako Basin but there is no infrastructure in place to deal with any product that is found.

"I think",  said Thorlakson, "it will take a minimum of five years before any serious exploration will take place in the Nechako basin. First of all you need to establish that there is a lot of gas and then you need to put in place the facilities for the treatment of the product and build a pipeline to get that product to a market."

"You could see a pipeline from the Nechako basin to say Kitimat or Rupert that would then see large tankers take gas into the USA" Thorlakson says, "but that is not in the immediate picture".

The Montney field is a monster according to anyone in the gas business says Thorlakson. That field is located between Chetwynd and Dawson Creek, near Stewart Lake (Not the same one as the one in the Prince George area). The infrastructure is nearby.

Similarly the Horn River basin is a massive find, that field is located near Ft Nelson and that area (where there are proven reserves) is seeing a lot of attention.

Added to that is the exploration taking place in the Hudson Hope area for coal bed methane gas. Thorlakson says coal bed gas is being sought after because it requires no treatment. “You can just pump it out of the ground and then use it" he said  "The gas that we believe is under the ground in the Nechako Basin is the normal kind."

The other areas of interest according to Thorlakson are the exploration for Coal Bed Methane. That drilling is taking place in the area south of Fernie, in the Klappan basin area, and on Vancouver Island. Coal bed methane got a bad start says Thorlakson "In the USA private drillers allowed salt water from the wells to escape onto the surrounding ground contaminating it. The companies were supposed to put the salt water that covers the gas into holding ponds allowing it to evaporate. They didn’t control it well and it received a very bad rap."

In the area of the Klappan the water to extract is fresh and the companies who are drilling on crown land are much more susceptible to control. They will be made to pump the water that they extract back into the earth at depths of about 1500 meters.

In conclusion Thorlakson says hold onto your hats, it’s not time yet for the Nechako Basin

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