PNN NOVEMBER 2020 by Pipeline News North

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH NOVEMBER 2020 VOL. 12 • ISSUE 11 • DIST: 11,600

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CAODC announces the release of its 2021 drilling forecast CAODC announces the release of its 2021 Drilling Forecast. Projected 2021 wells drilled: 3,771 – an increase of 475 from 2020 (3,296*) Projected 2021 operating days: 33,938 – an increase of 4,274 from 2020 (29,664*) Rig fleet expected to decrease by 27 (505 drilling rigs to 478 drilling rigs) Total jobs expected = 18,550, an increase of 2,349 year over year *forecast + actual After a promising start, 2020 activity levels came to a crashing halt at the end of Q1 along with the global economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry faced historic lows in oil pricing, which drove historic lows in drilling activity, with CAODC drilling contractors averaging only 17 active rigs in June. 2020 was not only the worst year on record, it was an extension of the prolonged downturn in Canada’s oil and gas industry. CAODC members weathered the storm yet again by further reducing headcount and getting by on unprecedentedly low drilling and well service activity. However, the Association’s registered rig fleet numbers remained relatively stable throughout the year. Continued on the inside!

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FORT ST JOHN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION FSJPA/ fsjpa.wildapricot.org

Become a Member The Fort St. John Petroleum Association is actively seeking new members.

The purposes of the society Fort St John Petroleum Association are: • To create a nonprofit fraternal organization for educational, benevolent and social purposes. • To create a medium through which the society members may express themselves in Social activities, Educational pursuits and Athletic endeavors. • To contribute to the community in supporting worthwhile projects as decided upon from time to time by the society. • To provide entertainment that is enjoyable, instructive and beneficial to its members and families. • To encourage a spirit of good fellowship among the society members.

MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS Regular Member: a member who is directly engaged and derives 85% of his subsistence from any of the following petroleum industry enterprises:

Contact us: Unless otherwise specified all regular meetings are held upstairs at the Fort St. John Curling Rink at 6:00 pm on the second Thursday of the month. Fort St. John Curling Rink • 9504 96 St, • Fort St John, BC

• • • • • • • • • •

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Mailing Address: Fort St. John Petroleum Association • Box 6122 • Fort St. John BC • V1J 4H6

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

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Canada oil production predicted to grow, with pipeline capacity to spare nelsOn bennett Fossil fuel consumption in Canada peaked in 2019 and will decline by 12% by 2030, provided the federal government can stick to its ambitious carbon reduction plans. That’s the prediction being made by the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) in it is first IEA-style energy outlook. Every year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) produces a global energy outlook. The CER is now using a similar scenariosbased model to predict what Canada’s energy consumption and production profile could look like over the next three decades. It focuses on both domestic energy use, and energy exports in three key areas: oil, natural gas and electricity. It uses two scenarios. The reference scenario is one in which nothing much changes with respect to decarbonisation and climate change action beyond what is already in place. The evolving scenario assumes a global effort to step up climate action and decarbonisation. Under the evolving scenario, the outlook concludes that Canada’s consumption of fossil fuels already peaked in 2019, and will decline by 12% by 2030 and 35% by 2050. Under the evolving scenario, the CER assumes Canada’s carbon tax will rise to $75 per tonne by 2040, and $175 per tonne by 2050. Even under an evolving scenario, which assumes increased climate

action and decarbonisation policies, the CER energy outlook forecasts Alberta’s oil production will continue to grow by about 1 million barrels per day by 2040, then begin to decline, while natural gas production increases by 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), driven largely by exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Meanwhile, electricity production shifts towards cleaner sources, and coal power is phased out entirely. The outlook forecasts hydro power, wind, solar, and biofuels used to generate electricity will increase by 45% between now and 2050, and nuclear power to grow by 2%. While it predicts Canada’s own fossil fuel use will steadily decline, it assumes Canadian oil production and natural gas production will continue to grow, since much of the Canada produces is exported, although the outlook suggests that there may be more pipeline capacity than required for its oil production, should all three new pipeline projects (Trans Mountain, Keystone XL and Line 3) get built. The outlook predicts that, under the evolving scenario, Canada’s oil production output will increase over next two decades by close to 1 million barrels per day (MMb/d): from 4.9 MMb/d in 2019 to 5.8 MMb/d in 2039, mostly in Alberta. “Much of the growth in oil sands production is in the form of expansions to existing facilities,” the outlook states. Under the reference scenario, oil production would grow by 2.3 MMb/d to 7.2 MMb/d. But if all three oil pipelines that are either already being built or proposed are finished, Canada

might end up with a surplus of pipeline capacity. Alberta’s problem has long been a lack of pipeline capacity, which has resulted in Alberta oil selling at a discount. Three new pipelines or expansions are already underway or proposed to be built soon: the Trans Mountain expansion, Line 3 and the Keystone XL. Those expansions would increase pipeline capacity by a total of 1.7 million barrels per day. In recent years, Alberta producers have moved thousands of barrels of oil to the U.S. by rail, which is more expensive, so some of that new spare pipeline capacity would likely be filled with current oil production. But if the CER outlook is right and Alberta’s production grows by only 1 million barrels by 2040, the expanded pipelines might end up with surplus capacity. “With these announced pipeline projects assumed to proceed as proposed, crude available for export from western Canada remains below total pipeline capacity over the next 30 years in both scenarios,” the outlook states. Both Line 3 and Keystone XL would increase pipeline capacity, but it wouldn’t change the fact that Alberta producers would still be captive to a single customer – refiners in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast. The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is the only one that would give Alberta producers access to other markets – notably California and Asia, including China and India. Natural gas, LNG exports to grow As for Canadian natural gas, the CER expects it to increase in production over the next two

decades, from the current 15.7 billion cubic feet per day (BCf/d) to 18.4 Bcf/d by 2040. That growth will occur despite declining domestic use of natural gas, as much of the anticipated growth is driven by exports in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Under the evolving scenario, LNG production and exports are projected to be 2 Bcf/d in 2025. That basically represents a single large LNG project now under construction: LNG Canada. It projects LNG exports to double to 4 Bcf/d in 2030-2035, and peak at 5 Bcf/d in 2040. Under a reference scenario, LNG exports would peak at 7 Bcf/d. Both crude oil and natural gas production is expected to begin declining after 2040. Electricity The outlook forecasts nonemitting electricity to increase its share of Canada’s energy mix in the coming decades. Currently, electricity accounts for 16% of the total energy mix. It is expected to increase to 27% by 2050, at which time half of all passenger vehicles sales will be electric. The outlook forecasts hydroelectricity, wind, solar, and biofuels to generate power will increases by 45% from 2019 to 2050 in the Evolving Scenario. Nuclear demand increases by 2%. Coal power is phased out altogether. “Combined with declining fossil fuel use, the share of these low and non-emitting sources increases from 23% of the energy mix in 2019, to 38% by 2050,” the outlook predicts. — Business in Vancouver

from the front: 2021 drilling forecast Meanwhile, some gains continue to be made for Canadian oil and gas in critical areas such as pipeline infrastructure. Although the U.S. election results may have increased uncertainty regarding the Keystone XL pipeline, other projects such as the Trans Mountain Expansion, Coastal GasLink, and Alberta’s NGTL pipelines have made considerable progress. These developments, combined with upward pricing

forecasts for natural gas, the recovery in oil prices from 2020 lows, and the gradual introduction of the federal government’s $1.7 billion grant for well reclamation, suggest 2021 activity should modestly improve from the 2020 collapse. With that said, the forecasted increase of 475 wells and 4,274 operating days still means 2021 will be the second slowest year in the industry’s modern history.

“The market volatility and uncertainty will persist, and several factors hang in the balance,” says CAODC President and CEO, Mark A. Scholz. “The prospects for an effective COVID-19 vaccine are promising, but the impact of the pandemic on energy demand in 2021 and access to capital for our members and their customers remain a challenge. Moreover, it is critical OPEC+ maintains supply discipline throughout these

unprecedented demand shocks. Although the industry’s short-term challenges endure, we continue to be bullish in the medium and long-term as the world continues to demand Canadian energy resources,” says Scholz. “We will deal with what comes, whatever it may be, but next year could finally be the start of a recovery.”

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NOVEMBER 30, 2020

PNN MIssIOn stAteMent Pipeline News North provides current, interesting, and relevant news and information about the oil and gas industry in Northeast B.C. and Northwest Alberta. Have an interesting story to share or a news lead? Email us at editor@ahnfsj.ca.

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Opening doors to digital implementation, says executive roundtable

If there is any positive effect of the business disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that it forced many longstanding digital plans forward at a faster pace, business leaders told a recent roundtable on digitalization that is part of the Daily Oil Bulletin’s 2020 Digital Oilfield Outlook Report. Digital oilfield technologies have risen in priority, digital budgets have been spared the deep cuts or freezes seen elsewhere, and workers at all levels have gained a newfound appreciation for the benefits digital technology can provide, the executives said. Asked how their companies reacted to the massive changes in the industry in recent months, executives spoke of an immediate pause in several areas as companies “hit the brakes on a lot of projects” and all spending was put up for review. But having already proven their ability to increase efficiency and reduce costs, digitalization initiatives have largely continued apace. “The digital transformation has continued, if not accelerated, through the pandemic,” said one executive who leads a digital implementation team, noting his was the only team at his company still hiring. A recurring theme of the roundtable was the new appreciation for digital connectivity brought to the forefront by the pandemic. As workers were forced out of downtown and field offices by lockdowns instituted in March, they became immediately reliant on digital technologies that would allow them to continue to work remotely. In many cases, executives were learning about technologies they didn’t know they had. In other cases, employees were keen to learn how to use the very systems their IT teams had

struggled in the past to educate them to use. “Back in February, we had managers who did not know how to set up a Skype meeting. That’s certainly not the case anymore,” said one participant. “That has changed dramatically.” Many executive said see the pandemic crisis as an unprecedented opportunity to implement a systems change organization-wide that they have previously struggled to bring about. “It’s exciting because we’ve gone through several years worth of change in a couple of months. People’s attitudes have changed rapidly; things that were out of the question before, all of a sudden it became like, ‘Why are we not doing this already?’” But priorities have shifted in other ways. For example, the appetite for experimentation and risk-taking has diminished for most. “I think the acceleration piece of it is, on digital, you have to be ready to fail. And our appetite to fail has gone super low. So we will only bet money on things we have already done or things which are a sure bet.” However, some saw it as an opportunity to actually increase experimentation, at least within some level of budgetary restraint. “We started looking for ways to experiment a little bit more, within budget and capacity, of course. We looked at it as an opportunity to do things that we haven’t done before. We saw everything accelerate. Our five-year plan became a six-month to a 12-month plan. We ended up doing validation and verification of systems, and we actually brought in external auditors to go through our systems and figure out how we could lean the processes and improve the software.” The pandemic recession has also had an impact on technology needs as companies

back away from large capital projects, and the large digital implementations that go along with them, to concentrate on smaller, less complex developments, with a more fluid and flexible approach to digital implementation. Customers that before had struggled to embrace an agile methodology and the concept of the one-week sprints to focus on continuous improvement and reprioritization are now enthusiastic about such concepts, one executive said. “They can see that they can build support within the organization for getting some results immediately and then go from there.” The response to the pandemic also exposed some of the limits of digital transition, at least as far as social interactions go. While workers in oil and gas, as in other industries, have quickly taken to online meetings and conferences, some personal interactions are not so easily replaced in a virtual world. Secondary encounters — impromptu meetings and chance encounters that are commonplace in the downtown office environment for example — which often spark new ideas and insights are missed. And while remote interactions might work well among teams that have been established for some time, they might not work as well for new employees learning the ropes in a new workplace, or be a replacement for more random assemblies. While no one knows what the future will hold as the effects of the pandemic continue to ripple through the economy, executives generally agreed, as one said, “the future is going to look much different than the past.” Daily Oil Bulletin’

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

CAPP: Canadian net-Zero emissions Accountability Act The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is committed to working with the Canadian government to meet emissions reduction objectives, which includes the ambition to achieve net-zero by 2050. This is a 30-year challenge that will have significant impact on all Canadians and require collaboration across industries and all levels of government.

about keeping their jobs, staying healthy and recovering from the devastating economic impacts of the pandemic. Oil and natural gas is one of Canada’s largest industries, Canada’s largest export product and a major source of investment and tax revenue. We can play a key role in supporting good jobs and generating economic growth to benefit all Canadians.

Any pathway to net-zero includes the efficient use of oil and natural gas. Considerable investment in technology and innovation at scale will be needed, including negative emissions technologies such as carbon capture, use and storage. There are important opportunities for industry to contribute given our expertise in these areas.

By working together, we can further accelerate innovation and develop technology that reduces emissions while delivering responsibly produced energy to meet global energy demand.

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60th Oilmen’s bonspiel hits the button DIllOn GIAnCOlA The 48 curlers playing in the 60th Oilmen’s Bonspiel arrived at the Taylor Curling Club last Thursday, November 19 for what they thought would be three fun and relaxing days of curling. Unfortunately, when the provincial government’s new COVID-19 restrictions regarding group activities and events came down at 3 p.m., the Fort St. John Petroleum Association and Taylor Curling Club decided to finish off the day’s activities before postponing the rest of the event. However, the unique one-day bonspiel may have been just as much a success as the traditional weekend format. Each of the 16

teams played one game, and the rock the hole skills competition was moved up to Thursday instead of Friday, with Colby Coates winning the competition and the $530 prize. That night, the annual Oilmen’s Bonspiel banquet was held at the curling club. All the door prizes were given out, and the Apex Valve Service team was the last one picked in the reverse draw, winning the $1,500 prize. The bonspiel had already been delayed a month, and had switched locations from Fort St. John to Taylor due to an ice plant malfunction. Protocols were already in place to ensure social distancing would be respected and teams only had three players instead of four. Try as

they might, the Oilmen’s Bonspiel executive weren’t able to hold the full bonspiel, but were pleased with what transpired. “It was going to be a different year anyway, we already had a lot less people taking part, but it still went really well. The Taylor Curling Club and volunteers did such a good job, they had security at the door making sure no spectators came in and temperatues were checked for fevers, and I can’t say enough good things about them,” said Oilmen’s Bonspiel Chair Neil Carlstrom. One bright spot was the bonspiel committee purchased all the food that the curling club had bought for breakfast and dinner, and donated it to the Fort St. John Salvation Army

Food Bank. “It was nice to be able to do something like that. This isn’t a good time to have anything go to waste,” Carlstrom said. Carlstrom said it’s the committee’s hope that they’ll be able to hold the remaining two days of the bonspiel sometime after the Christmas break. sports@ahnfsj.ca Below - Dean Horn, Kevin Young, Curtis Schafer and Dan Wuber of the Rhyason Contracting team are the 2018 Oilmen’s Bonspiel A event champions.

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Aerial view of Esso Resources’ Rig #3 on Itiyok, a man-made artificial island in the Beaufort Sea, Northwest Territories. Courtesy Glenbow Archives.

Woodfibre lnG now slated for 2021 construction start Construction of the Woodfibre LNG plant and export terminal in Squamish, which was scheduled to be underway this year, will be pushed back by more than a year, says the company’s outgoing president. Construction on the project will likely not start until the fall of 2021. David Keane is retiring as Woodfibre’s president at the end of this month, but will continue to be an adviser. In an exit interview of sorts, Keane explained why the project has been delayed, and said he now expects Pacific Oil and Gas to formally approve the project, estimated to cost between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion, by 2021’s third quarter. Construction would start shortly thereafter, with the plant expected to be producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export by late 2025. Keane, 69, joined Woodfibre as president in 2018. Prior to that, he was the CEO for the BC LNG Alliance (recently rebranded the Canadian LNG Alliance) for four years. The COVID-19 pandemic and a bankruptcy have contributed to the Woodfibre LNG construction delay. In January, the project’s main engineering, procurement and construction contractor, McDermott, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. It has since restructured its debt and may continue as Woodfibre’s EPC contractor. The COVID-19 pandemic also temporarily closed LNG-module fabrication yards in Asia. The delay forced the company to apply for a five-year extension to its provincial environmental certificate.

Two weeks ago, the BC Environmental Assessment Office also granted FortisBC a five-year extension to its environmental certificate for a new 47-kilometre pipeline that will supply natural gas to the Woodfibre LNG plant. While the company waits for Pacific Oil and Gas to pull the trigger on its final investment decision, Woodfibre has been working on the remediation of its site, which was previously occupied by a pulp mill. Once it’s started, the project would employ 600 people at peak construction and 110 ongoing. When Keane, who is American, first came to B.C. to head the BC LNG Alliance in 2016, there was a “gold-rush mentality” around LNG, with roughly 20 large and small LNG projects proposed for the province. Keane said there was good reason, at the time, to think B.C. would become major player in the global LNG export market. “The demand was growing in Asia, British Columbia is an excellent location, it has a tremendous amount of natural gas reserves, so the supply’s there. So it made a lot of sense for companies to come in and look at B.C. “And I think it still is a very, very good place to do business.” But B.C. has been eclipsed by the U.S., which built several new LNG projects, while proposals for B.C. stalled and died. One by one, major projects like the $36 billion Petronas Pacific Northwest LNG were scrubbed, as a result of falling oil prices (which had been indexed to LNG prices), a temporary glut of LNG globally, regulatory delays and a suite of new LNG industry taxes introduced by the former BC Liberal government that made proponents balk.

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Catch the Pipeline next month!

“Developing an LNG income tax before an industry was even up and running had a significant and serious implication for the industry,” Keane said. After John Horgan’s BC NDP formed government in 2017, it agreed to cancel the LNG tax, as well as special electricity rates for LNG that the Liberals had introduced. Once LNG was placed on the same footing as other heavy industries, partners in the LNG Canada project announced a $40 billion final investment decision. Compared with LNG Canada, Woodfibre is small. But it has set the bar high for other proposals in two respects. For one, it entered an unprecedented agreement with the Squamish First Nation, which became, in essence, a regulator. The first nation produced its own environmental impact study, and Woodfibre agreed to abide by all 25 of its recommendations. Woodfibre also agreed to use electricity instead of natural gas for the liquefaction process. By using e-drive, the carbon emissions intensity of Woodfibre’s LNG will be the lowest in the world. Keane said that if the provincial and federal governments want Canada to develop an LNG industry, they need to be mindful of competitors. “If you look at [why] the United States was successful in developing four or five significant LNG projects, where we weren’t successful except getting one off the ground, we should look at that. Looking at the amount of regulations that are in place is important.”

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NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Record propane exports at Ridley Island AltaGas Ltd. reported Thursday that the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal exported a record 42,736 bbls/d of Canadian propane to Asia during the quarter, underpinned by ongoing growth in throughput volumes in northeast B.C. The company said it exported an average of 43,000 bbls/d in the quarter, a 20% increase over the same period last year. Its goal is to soon export 50,000 bbls/d from that terminal. Meanwhile, its overall propane exports from North America are destined to continue rising even more, as a result of its stake in Petrogas

Energy Corp., in which it now has a 74 per cent ownership. The company’s growth engine going forward will be its RIPET which has just gone into operation in the last two years and which continues to see growth in volumes, as well as its U.S.-based midstream assets. During the quarter, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) also granted AltaGas an additional 25-year licence to export up to 46,000 bbls/d of propane, bringing the aggregate

propane export capacity under 25-year export licenses to 92,000 bbls/d. Overall, the company was able to record a revenue increase to $969 million in the quarter, up from $888 million in 2019. For the first nine months of 2020, it reported revenue of $3.9 billion, down marginally from $3.96 billion in 2019. The company shelled out $67 million in monthly dividend payments in the quarter and has committed $201 million for overall dividends in the first three quarters of this year. — Daily Oil Bulletin

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Ralston returns as b.C. energy minister Bruce Ralston has been appointed as minister of energy in B.C. once again, as Premier John Horgan late last week unveiled his new cabinet after securing a majority government in late October. The official name of the ministry is energy, mines and low carbon innovation, a slight change from the previous energy, mines and petroleum resources. According to Ralston’s mandate letter, he has been tasked with establishing the BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy to drive made-in-B.C. innovations such as carbon capture and storage and renewable fuels. Also, the ministry is to “undertake a review of oil and gas royalty credits to ensure they meet B.C.’s goals for economic development, a fair return on our resources and environmental protection.” Ralston is also to “implement worldleading regulations and technologies to support detection and reduction of harmful methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.” — Daily Oil Bulletin

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NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Crude-by-rail shipments bounce back from summer Canadian Press says exports of crude oil by rail are bouncing back after falling to an eightyear low in July. The Canada Energy Regulator says rail shipments of oil in September amounted to 94,440 barrels per day, nearly double the 51,000 bpd shipped in August. Only 39,000 bpd was shipped in July. That’s less than a tenth of the record 412,000 bpd moved by rail in February. ail transportation of crude oil is considered to be more expensive than shipping by pipeline so shippers tend to use it only when pipelines are full or if the destination market offers much higher prices than can be achieved in Canada. The CER says the lower use of rail compared with February results from lower crude oil production in Western Canada as global oil demand slumps due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduced production levels have freed up more space on export pipelines.

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Who are 2020’s top producers based on metres drilled?

The Daily Oil Bulletin generates several Top Operator reports place was taken by Ovintiv Canada ULC, with 341,632 metres. each quarter that rank producers in Western Canada, including (The Excel dataset contains a complete list of all the producers reports based on the number of wells drilled or meterage. and their meterage.) Including exploratory, development and test metres, Tourmaline Click here for a free Excel download of the Top Operators By was the top operator in Alberta with a total of 306,883 metres, and Metres Drilled. it also led in B.C. with 308,430 metres. Crescent Point was the top operator in Saskatchewan with a total of 429,159 metres drilled. Here are three key insight based on this dataset, for the period Tundra Oil & Gas Ltd. led in Manitoba (100,443 metres). January-to-September 2020: The top explorers in Canada in the first three-quarters of the year, ranked by metres drilled, were Spur Petroleum Ltd. (39,062 Tourmaline Oil Corp. was the top operator across the basin metres), Pipestone Energy Corp. (25,169 metres) and Murphy Oil during the first nine months of 2020 based on metres drilled, Company Ltd. (18,507 metres). including experimental/test wells. Tourmaline drilled 615,313 metres to the end of September. Tourmaline was followed by — JWN Energy Crescent Point Energy Corp., which drilled 443,318 metres. Third

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• PIPELINE NEWS NORTH NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Arctic refuge oil rights auction faces uncertain response The Trump administration is preparing to auction oil drilling rights inside the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the degree to which the industry will participate is uncertain. Leases on the land in northeast Alaska could be go on the block days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Tuesday. Supporters, including Alaska’s congressional delegation, have celebrated the prospect of a lease sale as a way to create jobs and revenue. Opponents express concerns about impacts on ecosystems, Indigenous people and the climate. Kara Moriarty, CEO of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said oil and gas companies are unsurprisingly remaining quiet about their intentions. “Participation in lease sales is one of the most competitive and secretive things between companies,’’ Moriarty said. The public likely will not learn about the industry’s level of interest until the federal government unseals the bids on the sale date, which has not yet been announced. There is a possibility that the sale could be held shortly before Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Some industry analysts believe there is a measure of uncertainty and risk that could lead to limited interest in a lease sale within the next two months. The coronavirus pandemic and an oil price war have hit the oil industry hard. Oil prices remain low and there are high costs and difficulties involved in Arctic exploration, said Mark Myers, a geologist and former Alaska natural resources commissioner. “The prices have fallen down to a level that leaves very little capital for exploration in these companies,’’ Myers said. Rowena Gunn, an analyst for energy research firm Wood Mackenzie Ltd., said public criticism

of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas could weigh heavily on publicly traded companies. Colorado-based energy economist Philip Verleger said he would not expect a deluge of bids because of the uncertainty over future demand for oil and natural gas. A lease sale in the refuge would have been “terrifically successful’’ 15 years ago, but the time to develop the coastal plain has passed, Verleger said. “The cost of going there and developing and putting the resources in is too high, particularly since the production would last a long time, and we don’t know if demand would last,’’ he said.

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the first steel girder was installed at the Halfway River bridge on november 18, 2020. | BC Hydro Photo

At the site C dam site area – north bank and south bank Penstock deliveries will occur on December 10 resulting in night-time traffic delays on Old Fort Road. Check our website for the latest delivery schedule.

 A number of work fronts are active including earthworks, drilling and grouting. All work fronts are being monitored and maintained to meet environmental and

regulatory commitments.  Powerhouse construction is continuing. This includes concrete placements at the powerhouse, intakes, and spillway,

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installation of penstocks, and construction of the superstructure for the powerhouse

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NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Huge eagle nests relocated near site C project

The Site C project near Fort St. John, a dam and generating station aren’t the only structures being built. We’re also building around 40 new eagle nesting platforms near the shoreline of the future reservoir. The nesting platforms will provide additional nesting options for bald eagles in the area. Our crews have built similar structures for other birds of prey, including ospreys, in other communities across the province. Protecting wildlife is a big priority for us. Before and during construction, we monitor eagle activity – including by helicopter three times a year. If we find active bald eagle nests within construction areas, these are protected with a large “no-clearing” buffer zone to avoid disturbance to the nesting birds. While we make every effort to protect the

SOUTH PEACE HOSPICE PALLIATIVE CARE SOCIETY

nests, there are times when we need to remove the trees containing the nests to advance construction. How do you move a 1,000-pound bird nest? This month, we carefully moved two inactive bald eagle nests from the north bank of the Peace River. This is tricky work as some nests can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. Professional fallers assisted in removing the entire section of the tree above and below the nest and then a crane was used to lower the piece of tree and nest onto a flatbed truck. The nests were then transported to a storage yard, where they’ll remain for a few months until their new home is ready.

absolutely necessary,” said Greg Scarborough, Site C’s director of environmental programs. “This work is always done outside of the critical nesting period when the nests are deemed inactive by a qualified professional, and in accordance with the B.C. Wildlife Act.” Monitoring now and into the future Later this winter, the nests will be moved onto the newly built eagle nesting platforms and closely monitored to see if bald eagles return to the nests. Once construction is complete, we’ll continue to monitor these nests, and others in the Peace River Valley for the first 10 years of project operations.

“Bald eagle nests are only removed when

Candlelight Memorial

Due to the cancellation of our candlelight memorial service we are providing these words that you may read and find comfort and meaning. We light a memory candle to remember those we have lost. Memories are treasures we keep in our hearts, minds, from times and moments spent together. If you look at the flame and close your eyes you will remember the light, and so remember your loved one. We light candles for Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love as we may feel HOPE even though these may be anxious times PEACE though surrounded by turmoil JOY that we may feel joyful although we carry sadness and pain LOVE that we may receive and give to those around us. As it is important to grieve loss, a matter of respect for the one who has passed and to honour them. We can do this in many ways, light a candle, explore what the loss means, write a letter, create a memory book, do something special, go to a favorite place.

Take this opportunity to acknowledge your loss and grief. Be still and remember.

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

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