PNN APRIL 2021 by Pipeline News North

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH

Serving the Oil and Gas Industry in Northern B.C. and Alberta VOL. 13 • ISSUE 04 • DIST: 17,500

April 2021

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Resolving to reduce environmental impacts British Columbia’s Dormant Sites Reclamation program is proving beneficial for one local oil and gas company. Joffre Jorgenson, owner of Resolve Energy Solutions, says the best part is seeing Northeast B.C. benefit. “Not only is it helping local service companies get back to work, it’s also helping to remove the environmental footprint our industry leaves behind,” said Jorgenson. “Although the $100 million only puts a small dent in the overall dormant site liability cleanup in [northeast B.C.], the DSRP program has triggered action to start with the reclamation programs with the operating companies who hold these liabilities.” He added his company is excited for the future of local well reclamation. “The DSRP program has no doubt opened the door for Resolve to build relationships with new customers and new asset retirement opportunities. Resolve sincerely appreciates our customers faith in our abilities to support their abandonment and reclamation programs,” Jorgenson said. Continued on next page!

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2 The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

from the front: resolve is on the reduction case

Joffre Jorgenson - owner of Resolve Energy Solutions

Tim Giesbrecht, the company’s Business Development Co-ordinator, says overseeing asset retirement and decommissioning is a rewarding experience, from start to finish. “What I find gratifying about it from an environmental perspective is you get to see direct results,” said Giesbrecht. “You can show up on a site one day and see there’s a wellhead, maybe a couple meter skids, a flare line. And two days later, it looks like there was nothing there.” He says the company averages two to three days per site, with crews of five to six, depending on the scope and scale of the infrastructure. “Every site is unique and different in its own right, based on the kind of production or the field and zone that they were producing from,” Giesbrecht said. “With the right staffing levels, you can have one group ahead of everybody, getting everything prepped and removed. Then heavy equipment can move in.” Essentially, there are three steps in retiring a well site: scouting, planning, and action, says Giesbrecht. Google Earth is used to scout sites, utilizing satellite imagery to see what infrastructure is in place, he said, noting the BC Oil and Gas Commission also has a database of wellsite and pipelines to draw information from. Next, crews visit sites to see what they can access, taking photos and getting the lay of the land, crafting a plan. Planning involves determining the number of staff needed, site access, finding salvageable equipment, and taking waste and metals to scrapyards for recycling. “Most of the equipment out there is metal, so a lot of it will go to ABC Recycling or Richmond Steel for recycling, there’s very little that goes into garbage,” Giesbrecht said. Facility deactivation is the next step, he added, with fluids and chemicals being safely removed from the site. Solvents are used to sanitize any remaining equipment, before removal. — Tom Summer/PNN

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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.

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 Mailing Address:

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The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

B.C. producers cutting 300,000 tonnes of emissions

Oil and gas operators in the Peace region have received $7.4 million in provincial funding to cut more than 300,000 tonnes of emissions over the next decade. The money comes from the CleanBC Industry Fund, funded by carbon tax revenue, and is part of government targets announced Friday to reduce emissions in the sector by 33% to 38% by 2030. “People in British Columbia want steady progress on climate change coupled with good jobs and strong communities, supported by businesses that are reducing pollution and thriving in the global clean economy,” said Environment Minister George Heyman. Major operators in the region have received funding for waste heat recovery, fuel switching, as well as methane capture and reduction projects. Here are the projects that have been funded so far: -Black Swan Energy - $2 million to install four waste heat exchangers at Black Swan’s gas processing facility near Fort St. John. This project will reduce the fuel gas usage at the facility operation and improve the facility greenhouse gas efficiency. The province says 81,000 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Ovintiv - $1.3 million to retrofit gas processing equipment at the Cutbank Ridge facility near Dawson Creek to run on compressed air instead of methane, eliminating venting of the fossil fuel into the atmosphere and repurposing it into the company’s feedstock. The province says 11,000 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Crew Energy - $1.26 million to install waste heat recovery units at Crew’s gas processing facility near Fort St. John. Each waste heat recovery unit will recover additional thermal energy to a new hot oil loop that will be installed as a part of this project. The province says 68,000 tonnes

of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Petronas - $1.1 million to replace 17 natural gas driven pneumatic pumps with electric pumps at its 12 compressor stations near Fort St. John. The province says 36,500 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Veresen Midstream - $818,000 to reduce flaring of methane gas during normal operations at the Steeprock sour gas processing plant near Dawson Creek by installing electric vapour recovery equipment to capture methane and repurpose it into its feedstock. The province says 26,500 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Shell Canada - $380,000 to replace methane venting equipment with new technology powered by clean electricity at Shell’s Groundbirch natural gas facility located west of Dawson Creek. The province says 19,000 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Petronas - $265,000 to install electric boilers at its three gas plants near Fort St. John. This project will reduce heat demand on the natural gas fired boilers. The province says 11,000 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Canadian Natural Resources - $142,000 to retrofit its three facilities’ pneumatic devices to run on air instead of fuel gas. The province says 38,000 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -Murphy Oil - $60,000 to retrofit high-bleed pneumatic devices to low-bleed pneumatic devices equivalents across numerous well sites in the Dawson Creek area. The province says 8,400 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. -ConocoPhillips - $51,000 to replace five gas-driven pumps with five solar-electric pumps at two heritage sites near Fort St. John. The province says 2000 tonnes of emissions will be

reduced through 2030. -Pacific Canbriam - $24,000 to retrofit its five pneumatic devices to run on instrument air instead of fuel gas. The province says 1,200 tonnes of emissions will be reduced through 2030. Elsewhere in B.C., Tidewater’s refinery in Prince George has received $357,000 to increase its efficiency by automating part of its gas flaring process, as well

as upgrade a crude heater. The province says 19,000 tonnes of emissions will be cut through 2030. FortisBC has also received $1.07 million for methane capture along its transmission pipeline network, which the province says will cut 22,600 tonnes of emissions over the next decade. — Matt Preprost/PNN

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B.C.’s Oil and Gas Commissioner retiring Paul Jeakins, the longest serving commissioner and CEO of B.C.’s Oil and Gas Commission, is set to retire later this year. The OGC said Thursday that Jeakins will retire at the end of his second term, Oct. 27, 2021. Jeakins has been with the Commission since 2006 in multiple roles, before assuming the helm in October 2011. “Paul has heralded many improvements during his tenure – moving the organization forward on reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, overseeing accelerated reclamation and cleanup of orphan oil and gas sites, and ensuring water use is closely monitored and publicly reported,” the OGC said in a statement. An independent committee has begun the search process for his replacement, the OGC said. — Matt Preprost/PNN

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The B.C. government and Mining Association of BC today unveiled a new Mining Innovation Roadmap that aims to tap the province’s high-tech expertise and abundant clean energy to make mining cleaner, greener, and more productive. Today is officially Mining Day in B.C. and the provincial government used the occasion to invite B.C.’s mining industry representatives to meet with government and opposition leaders virtually to promote the progress they have made to date. The mining sector has already provided a catalyst for companies like Saltworks and MineSense to develop engineering solutions to some of the problems the mining sector faces. The new road map aims to build on that synergy. “At a time when British Columbians need it most, mining can play a critical and positive role in the province’s economic recovery,” said Michael Goehring, president of the Mining Association of BC. “There are a number of new mines and mine extensions on the books. They hold the potential to deliver thousands of new jobs, more revenue for public services and advance economic reconciliation with indigenous communities.” Without the metals that mining produces, the energy transition needed to address climate change simply can’t happen. While governments around the world have begun to accept that mining will be critical to the energy transition, the reality is that new mines continue to be rejected or languish in permitting limbo. Mining can have significant impacts on the environment, which is where many mine projects run into trouble in B.C. Those projects that face opposition from First Nations in B.C. simply don’t get approved. And even projects that do finally get approved can take well over a decade just to get through the various permitting processes. There are some First Nations in B.C. that support mining, however, notably the Tahltan First Nation in northwest B.C., which explains why so much of the mining exploration spending has been focused in that region over the last decade. The B.C. government wants to tap Vancouver’s high-tech expertise to help the mining sector address some of its environmental impacts. It also hopes to leverage B.C.’s abundant clean energy to market B.C. minerals and metals – primarily gold, copper and metallurgical coal – as low carbon. “Our government has taken steps to improve health, safety and environmental compliance, to improve permitting and to support industrial electrification and to advance reconciliation, distinguishing us fairly as leaders in the growing global, environmental, social and governance investment movement,” said Bruce Ralston, B.C. minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. The fact many B.C. mines can operate largely on B.C.’s abundant clean hydro power is something the government and industry is promoting as a kind of green premium. “In B.C. we have one of the lowest GHG emission intense mines and smelters in the world, producing low carbon metals and minerals the world needs to transition to a low-carbon economy.” Goehring said.

The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

Supreme Court says the federal carbon price is constitutional

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The Supreme Court of Canada says the federal carbon price is entirely constitutional.

“It is a threat of the highest order to the country, and indeed to the world,” Wagner wrote for six of the nine judges. Given that, said Wagner, Canada’s evidence that this is a matter of national concern, is sound. “The undisputed existence of a threat to the future of humanity cannot be ignored,” he wrote.

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Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson issued an immediate statement lauding the decision as “a win for the millions of Canadians who believe we must build a prosperous economy that fights climate change.”

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“The question is whether this decision will put an end to the efforts of Conservative politicians fighting climate action in court, and whether they will join Canadians in fighting climate change.”

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The onus was on the federal government to prove to the court that this is an issue of national concern that would allow it to take control of the matter rather than leaving it to the provinces. The majority of the court found the federal government did that, noting all parties, including the provinces challenging the law, agreed climate change is “an existential challenge.” “This context, on its own, provides some assurance that in the case at bar, Canada is not seeking to invoke the national concern doctrine too lightly,” Wagner wrote. Wagner also wrote provinces can’t set minimum national standards on their own and if even one province fails to reduce its emissions, that could have an inordinate impact on other provinces.

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The split decision upholds a pivotal part of the Liberal climate-change plan, accounting for at least one-third of the emissions Canada aims to cut over the next decade. Chief Justice Richard Wagner says in the written ruling that climate change is a real danger and evidence shows a price on pollution is a critical element in addressing it.

6 The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

Coastal GasLink plans full mobilization for summer construction season Thank you FoR RECyCLInG ThIS nEWSPaPER.

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TC Energy officials say they are looking ahead to a strong 2021 construction season for the Coastal GasLink pipeline after a year of pandemic-related setbacks. Kiel Giddens and Heather Desarmia gave the Peace River Regional District an update Thursday on the $6.6-billion pipeline project between the Peace region and Kitimat, now close to one-third completed. So far, 125 kilometres of pipe has been installed, the result of 7.6 million hours of labour by a workforce of more than 4,000. “It takes a village to build a project like this for sure,” said Giddens. “We’ve had certainly a challenging start to the year, with a public health order on Coastal GasLink ... We’re also looking ahead to a strong 2021 construction season.” The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed construction, and the workforce has not yet been brought back to full capacity. By February, there were 2,800 workers brought back to work, under the 3,500 initially scheduled due to the health restrictions. Full mobilization is expected later this summer, Giddens said, and workers are screened on a regular basis with daily temperature checks. Once completed, the pipeline is approved for an initial capacity of 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, with a potential of 5 billion cubic feet per day. On next page...

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“We believe that we have a critical role to play in delivering the energy that is responsibly produced right in your backyard, the Peace region,” Giddens said. “There is no manual for how to build a pipeline in a pandemic, but we did expand our safety plan to make sure our workers are protected. We want to ensure we’re not putting a strain on the local health care providers.” Worker vaccination clinics started on Monday, with project medical staff delivering vaccines to employees at the Sukunka Lodge. Construction is also underway for Mount Merrick Lodge to accommodate more workers, which is expected to finish by the middle of the summer. Community outreach has been another aspect of the project, with $787,000 contributed to local organizations in the regions impacted by the pipeline. Chetwynd Mayor Allen Courtoreille thanked the company for the contributions by GasLink employees, who have organized 50/50 raffles and other fundraisers in support of organizations in his community. “It’s something you don’t really look at when you talk big companies. We don’t look at the personal part of an individual working and donating their time in giving maybe two or three dollars, that works out to be thousands of dollars,” said Courtoreille. “I just want to make sure that I put that in there: giving back where they work is very important and I’d like to thank them for that.” Work will also continue near the Murray River crossing and the compressor station at Wilde Lake. Roughly 645 employees work in those areas. — Tom Summer/PNN

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The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

Province launches restoration program for legacy oil and gas sites

The province has launched what it’s calling a “first-of-its-kind effort” to restore oil and gas legacy sites across northeast B.C. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Legacy Sites Restoration program is a collaboration between the provincial government, the federal government, Indigenous communities and a consortium of industry members, the Ministry of Energy said. “This new program is one of three aimed at cleaning up the environment by restoring lands impacted by the oil and gas sector in northeastern B.C.,” said Energy Minister Bruce Ralston. “Our $6.5-million investment with our partners will put British Columbians back to work, clean up our environment and advance reconciliation.” A legacy site is an area of land disturbance, such as a seismic cut line, the province said, and which leaves longlasting effects on traditional land uses by First Nations and on wildlife habitat. “Historically, all vegetation on these sites was removed to allow for the movement of large vehicles and equipment. These sites were created at a time when restoration

or reclamation was not required to meet today’s higher standards,” the province said. “Historical oil and gas development has had a variety of impacts on the regional environment as well as the people and wildlife that rely on it.” Legacy site restoration includes soil and vegetation replacement, providing wildlife such as caribou with a suitable habitat to raise their offspring, the province said. Of about 25,000 oil and gas well sites in B.C., approximately 770 are considered orphan. In addition, there are more than 8,500 dormant well sites in B.C. The province says the number of legacy sites will be determined with the help of affected First Nations communities. The province said it signed the Petroleum and Natural Gas Restoration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the oil and gas sector in 2020, to collaborate on planning and jointly funding projects designed to restore and reclaim legacy disturbances. “Canada’s oil and natural gas industry is the country’s leading investor in clean technology and innovation, and we welcome this funding to the Legacy Sites Restoration program as it complements our

commitment to minimize land impacts,” said Brad Herald, vice-president, Western Canada operations, for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. “This program represents a positive extension to the ongoing partnership with government, Indigenous peoples and communities, and will help advance reconciliation while creating jobs as we move into recovery.” The province and MOU signatories initially contributed $1.5 million to implement the program. The province says it allocated an extra $5 million to restore legacy sites from the $120 million provided by the federal government last spring to clean up oil and gas sites. The province says implementation of the MOU will be overseen by a restoration management committee, and will provide opportunities for First Nation communities, service contractors, and other stakeholders in B.C. to apply for funding to support restoration and reclamation activities. — Matt Preprost/PNN

10 The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

Wanted: 59,650 new construction workers in B.C. this decade

Both U.S. president Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said their respective countries need to “build back better,” as hope for a postpandemic economic rebound appears on the horizon. But who is going to do all that better building? Because Canadians are retiring at a rate that exceeds workforce entry rates, a skilledlabour shortage that has been predicted for about a decade has already arrived for B.C.’s construction sector. “I would say it has gone from a flashing yellow light to a solid red light, in terms of the challenges it is presenting to the construction sector in particular,” said Chris Gardner, president of the Independent Contractors and Business Association (ICBA). A recent ICBA survey found contractors reporting they have had to turn down jobs, are taking longer to complete projects, paying more overtime and spending more time on training. BuildForce Canada estimates that 41,000 workers will retire from B.C.’s construction sector this decade. Only 35,100 new entrants are expected to fill those jobs. “Combining retirement and expansion

demands, the construction industry will need to recruit close to 59,650 workers over the coming decade,” BuildForce says in a recent B.C. industry snapshot. The residential homebuilding sector is already feeling the pinch, which is reflected in the time it takes to complete new projects. “We’re pretty good at getting those projects started,” Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist for the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), said of new housing starts in B.C. “We’re really bad at finishing them. Those construction times keep getting longer and longer.” Major projects like LNG Canada, the Site C dam and the Trans Mountain and Coastal GasLink pipeline projects appear to have secured the workers they need. A lot of planning and training went into ensuring a reliable skilled workforce for those megaprojects. But with so many workers tied up with those big energy projects, smaller projects in B.C. may find it harder to attract and recruit workers. In addition to B.C.’s four big energy projects, a number of public works projects are breaking ground or starting in earnest this year, including the St. Paul’s Hospital redevelopment and the Broadway SkyTrain expansion. In the homebuilding sector, there is a shortage of experienced framers, said Larry Clay, president of Clay Construction and incoming first vice-president of the Canadian Home Builders Association. “Ultimately, I think you’re going to be seeing less quality when you’re going to be allowing some people onto the site who normally don’t have the level of experience that you would normally require.” It’s not that some young people aren’t keen on carpentry. The demand for carpentry programs at the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) reports a long wait list for its carpentry framing and forming foundation program. The ICBA survey found all contractors in B.C. reporting shortages of glaziers, insulators and steel fabricators. “There is a skilled trade shortage right across the board,” said Scott Jacob, president of Jacob Bros. Construction, which builds roads, airports, hotels and highrises and employs 250 to 300 workers. “Big, small, medium – it doesn’t matter. Every company has a skilled labour shortage. Through the aging demographic, we are losing more experienced tradespeople than we’re educating every single year. We’ve all been talking about this for a long time, and what we haven’t done a good enough job of is making it appealing. We haven’t told the really good story about why there are great jobs in the construction industry, and we’re paying the price for that now.” In addition to the skilled trades shortage, there is also still a dearth of women in construction. The BC Construction

Association (BCCA) confirms that only 6% of construction workers are women. “We’ve got goals to get it up to 10% by 2028,” said BCCA president Chris Atchison. The good news for any young person thinking about working in construction is that the labour shortage has been pushing wages up. The average wage for a construction worker in B.C. is $30 per hour, and, according to the ICBA, some tradespeople can earn as much as $50 per hour. But because there aren’t enough young Canadians to replace all the Canadians who are now retiring, Jacob thinks Canada will need to revisit its laws governing imported workers. “I think nationally we have to look at our immigration policy,” Jacob said. “I think it’s time we maybe de-emphasized the need for people to come in with degrees and cash, and instead get some blue-collar tradespeople.” — Nelson Bennett/Glacier Syndicated

The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

PRRD urged to ‘extinguish’ carbon tax for residents The Peace River Regional District wants more information on electricity connection plans and regional fuel use before lobbying the province to exempt residents from the provincial carbon tax. Directors also want more information to understand the implications of Thursday’s Supreme Court of Canada ruling that the federal carbon tax is constitutional. “We, just this morning, had the Supreme Court decision that the feds actually did have the authority to put carbon pricing on, and that it was a constitutional move,” Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman said. “So we could go battle the province and the feds will step in and put the carbon price right back on.” In a March 2 letter discussed at Thursday’s board meeting, Baldonnel farmer Arthur Hadland said his most recent fuel bill for heating his home showed that 19% was attributable to the carbon tax. Hadland, a former PRRD director, said the the board must take action “to extinguish” the tax for residents. “This onerous Carbon Tax has not in anyway reduced our consumption of carbon fuels and definitely has not improved our environment,”

Hadland wrote. “Rather the impact of forest fires, volcanoes, etc., which man has no control over have had a far greater imposition on our climate.” “Today it is incumbent on our Local Government and MLAs to protect the rural citizens from a grossly unfair and unnecessary Carbon Tax,” he wrote. Directors tabled the matter until May, and asked staff to bring a report back to the board within 60 days. There was some discussion about who should be included in any request for carbon tax exemptions. Chair Brad Sterling noted the request initially came from agricultural communities, but that considerations have broadened. “All of our businesses in the north have suffered, including residents,” Sperling said. B.C.’s carbon tax was implemented in 2008 on the purchase and use of fossil fuels, and rises to $45 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent on April 1. The province exempts some fuel purchases from the tax, including coloured fuels purchased by farmers. Area B Director Karen Goodings noted that residents and businesses between Wonowon and Buckinghorse have no ability to connect

to the grid, which means they are powering themselves by burning diesel or propane. Businesses like the Buckinghorse River Lodge would need to be included in any request for an exemption, she said. “We all know what has happened with the oil and gas slowdown, now with Covid, very few tourists are travelling the highway and they are suffering,” Goodings said. “We have to remember that Buckinghorse has to provide their own power. They do not have power so they have to pay carbon tax on the fuel they use to have power available.” Electoral Area E Director Larry Houley said the carbon tax was unfair and used his homes as an example. “Two homes I own, one is heated with propane, one is heated with natural gas,” he said. “Carbon tax on the propane-heated home is just about double what I pay on my home heated by natural gas.” Dawson Creek Mayor Dale Bumstead said the PRRD’s lobbying to the province must be precise and clearly defined to be successful. “They’re not going to open the door too widely, if they do open it,” Bumstead said. — Matt Preprost/PNN

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• Distributed to the community in general through these ﬁne publications, Alaska Highway News, Dawson Creek Mirror. • Distribution by mail and direct drop-off to Oil & Gas companies,and related businesses and organizations, in the following communities: BRITISH COLUMBIA – Arras, Baldonnel, Cecil Lake, Charlie Lake, CHETWYND, Clayhurst, DAWSON CREEK, Farmington, FORT ST. JOHN, Goodlow, Groundbirch, HUDSON HOPE, Moberley Lake, Pink Mountain, Pouce Coupe, Progress, Rolla, Rose Prairie, Taylor, Tomslake, and Wonowon.

12 The Pipeline News North, APRIL 15, 2021

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