Proving once again that the Harper government is more than happy to do the bidding of oil companies in Canada, federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq recently agreed to allow Shell up to 21 days to cap a blow out from an oil well off the coast of Nova Scotia. In presenting their proposed oil spill response plans, it seems Shell complained that it was simply too expensive for them to keep a capping stack nearby, which would allow them to cap the well more quickly, and our government agreed! Should a blowout occur, Shell will instead be permitted to haul their capping stack all the way from Norway across the Atlantic to the coast of Nova Scotia where, presumably, oil could be gushing - Deepwater Horizon style! - for up to three full weeks.
Not to worry though, because a blowout is a "very low probability event," according to Stuart Pinks of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, which regulates offshore oil activity in Nova Scotia and must still approve Shell’s plan for drilling in the Shelburne Basin. In any case, Shell is assuring us that they have “other methods” of containing a blowout.
What could possibly go wrong here? Given Shell’s track record on safety, I certainly feel much better.
As Arctic Campaigner Alex Speers-Roesch said in a Greenpeace press release: “Shell has a long track record of sacrificing safety in the blind pursuit of profit, as we have seen countless times during their failed attempts to drill in the Arctic. In 2012 Shell moved the drill rig Kulluk out of Alaska in order to avoid paying taxes, despite stormy conditions. The rig ended up breaking loose in a storm and running ashore in southern Alaska.”
Given the proximity of the Shelburne Basin to U.S. waters, it is worth noting that in the U.S., offshore drilling operators must demonstrate that they have “immediate access” to containment resources in the event of a blowout. In addition, the U.S. government recently issued a ruling that would require Shell to have their capping stack onsite within 24 hours of a blowout off the coast of Alaska. Of course, Shell’s reckless plan to drill in Arctic waters is not safe, even with the safety regulations, but nevertheless, the differences here are simply astonishing. In the US Arctic, Shell is given one day to get their capping stack on location. In the Canadian Atlantic, they get almost two weeks. Thank you Ms. Aglukkaq!
The Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia have also expressed concern about how long Shell has said it would take them to stop a blowout and have asked that the capping stack be kept in Halifax rather than Norway.
Although Shell’s plan to take up to 21 days to cap a well blowout has been approved, the actual drilling project has not. The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board must still give Shell the final thumbs-up, and that decision will likely come in the fall. Until that time, we still have an opportunity to tell the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board that Shell must be forced to get their capping stack to any well blowouts in a much, much shorter period of time - as in, immediately after they occur.
Send an email to:
Send a message to the CEO of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board:
Oil spills are a serious threat to ecosystems, fisheries and human health. Canada should be holding the oil industry to the highest standards of safety, not letting them cut corners. Shell simply cannot be believed when they say a blowout in Canadian waters will never happen. If and when it does, the Canadian government must ensure that Shell can contain it as quickly as possible.
Send a message to the CEO of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, Stuart Pinks, at:
902.496.3206
Tell Pinks what you think!!
Correction (August 18, 2015): An earlier version of this blog incorrectly stated that offshore drillers in Alaska are required to be able to cap a blowout within 24 hours. In fact US law requires drillers in Alaska to be able to get their capping stack onsite within 24 hours. After that, capping a blowout can take days or even weeks, and in some cases, such as the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a capping stack may fail completely to stop a spill without additional response measures, such as the drilling of a relief well. Shell estimates it would take them 12 days to get their capping stack onsite in Nova Scotia, and up to 9 days more to cap a blowout. This blog has been update to reflect these facts.