Tag Archives: Oil and gas

Kinder Morgan’s Latest Oil Spill in Abbotsford Raises Concerns About the Company’s Planned Pipeline Expansion

January 25, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Health and Environment, KinderMorgan, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from The Vancouver Sun on the recent oil spill at Kinder Morgan’s Abbotsford tank farm and why it rasises concerns about the company’s planned pipeline and tanker expansion in the Lower Mainland. (Jan. 25, 2012)

ABBOTSFORD — A crude oil spill at Kinder Morgan’s Abbotsford facility on Tuesday should serve as a wake-up call about the inherent risks associated with the energy company’s proposed expansion of its Trans Mountain pipeline, according to a national environmental group.

“This should be a reminder to people that there is a very serious risk of oil spills when you’ve got oil pipelines and oil tankers,” said Ben West, a Vancouver-based healthy communities campaigner for the Wilderness Committee.

Abbotsford residents first reported to police and fire service a strong oil smell as early as 4:30 a.m., according to Abbotsford police spokesman Const. Ian MacDonald.

Police investigated and determined it was coming from Kinder Morgan’s Sumas terminal site, in the 4100-block of Upper Sumas Mountain Road.

The spill was in a “containment area” and the only threat to residents was that of “nuisance odours,” said Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Lexa Hobenshield.

“We have placed foam on the oil, which should dissipate the odours significantly,” she said. The cleanup is expected to be completed sometime today, Hobenshield said. It is not known how much oil was released.

Rafe Tells Harper and Oliver He’s Ready for the Bulldozers

January 25, 2012Canada, Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and Supertankers, Politics, Western CanadaBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Oil and gas, PoliticsRafe Mair

Joe Oliver, Harper’s Resources minister, is a dangerous man. Indeed so is Harper. They have flung down the gauntlet, essentially saying that violence is the inevitable consequence of BC not taking the Enbridge Pipeline, the consequent tanker traffic, increased capacity and tankers for the Kinder Morgan line – with only a grumble or two from bitching NDP types.

What should really get our juices jumping is the statement that environmental hearings should proceed speedily and obstacles removed from these projects. it obviously being unthinkable that they could stop them.

That is ill-disguised code for, “Listen you assholes, we don’t give a damn about the public process – just get it over with so we can get on with the construction. It doesn’t matter that this monstrous Tar Sands gunk is to be transported through your pristine forests, mountain and streams – get on with it.”

“Pay no attention, peasants, to the fact that Enbridge has had over 800 spills since 1998 and that experience shows that the mess can never be cleaned up.”

“Disregard your stupid bloody salmon – if Newfoundland can get by without cod, you can get by without salmon and, come to think of it, if you have adult seals, there must be pups somewhere to bludgeon and we’ll find a subsidy for you.”

“There’s lots of money there for First Nations so stop bringing them into the discussion – as soon as we find out what their price is we’ll pay it and get on with it…why we in the federal government have been dealing with these savages, er First Nations, since 1867 and they trust us.”

“And who gives a damn that the people in BC are against these projects – we run things here!”

I oppose violence with every remaining sinew in my body but I’m saying to Harper and Oliver that violence is what their policies will bring. I haven’t had a fight since about Grade VII and I lost that one but I can tell you that I’m prepared to stand in the way of that first shovel and take the consequences. And I say to you both that you’re making a mistake if you think you can do these things without very serious consequences.

There is no middle way, Prime Minister – this Tar Sands gunk has to go by train or truck through Alberta to Houston because it isn’t coming though BC or through her waters.

Do you understand what this issue means to us, Prime Minister?

Look what happened in Alberta with the National Energy Plan! There were no environmental hazards involved, just money. The country was shaken to its roots by this policy and the Tories could only get into government and stay there by promising to tube the program.

That policy was politically inconsequential compared to the pipelines and tankers.

Think on this Mr. Harper: the roar from BC has not come about from the lack of money accompanying the pipelines – because it’s not about the money – yet you tell us a bunch of barnyard droppings about the billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Even if that crap was true we’ll not be bought off.

You talk as if First Nations will no doubt succumb to a billion dollar bribe and act as if this is just a money game and that you simply haven’t reached high enough for them.

What if you’re wrong, Mr. Harper – even you must consider the possibility of error. What then? Do you expect the First Nations to do nothing?

I believe you are dead wrong about our First Nations and you’re a damned fool if you simply go into your Ottawa shell and pull the covers over your head.

Prime Minister, you seem to be oblivious of the damage you’re doing.

The province of BC knows that these hearings are phoney but in a curious way they help us because they give people a place to vent their feelings and come together for the fight.

We know that you couldn’t care less that Enbridge has had 811 “accidents” since 1998. But take a moment, Mr. Harper, to check out the July 2010 Enbridge spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River; compare that geography with ours and you’ll see that there is no way Enbridge could do anything about a spill in British Columbia, even if they could get anything to it. It’s a problem of nature that not even you and Mr. Oliver can do anything about. Bitumen, because of its viscous nature, is like black ooze – you can’t get rid of it.

We know from experience that spills from tanker accidents last for decades.

MOSTLY WE KNOW WE KNOW THAT ON LAND AND AT SEA, ACCIDENTS ARE NOT RISKS BUT CERTAINTIES.

You must know these things too, Prime Minister, so why are you doing this to us?

Time to Call Cancer Foundation on its Enbridge Sponsorship

January 18, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Health and Environment, Oil and gasDamien Gillis

The BC Cancer Foundation is ready for your concerns over accepting title sponsorship from controversial oil pipeline builder Enbridge for this year’s annual “Ride to Conquer Cancer” (make that the “Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer”). They even have a handy instruction sheet preparing their staff to deflect your tough questions and subdue your outrage. I should know – I helped draft it (well, sort of).

This past Thursday, reporter Stephen Hui published a leaked internal memo from the BC Cancer Foundation on The Georgia Straight’s blog. The document was a draft list of talking points (scroll down) formulated to deal with the building backlash over the fundraising partnership between the Foundation – which is the fundraising arm of the BC Cancer Agency (a provincial department) and not to be confused in any way with the Cancer Society – and Enbridge Inc.

I first wrote an exposé on the “Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer” in The Common Sense Canadian last November, titled “Oil, Cancer and Bicycles”.

Interestingly, a number of the sample questions listed in the memo – to which optimal answers are supplied – were copied and pasted directly from my list of emailed questions to the organization last Fall, while others are very similar. For instance (copied or similar phrases in bold):

Their talking points question: “Are you concerned that Enbridge is using the BC Cancer Foundation to green wash or soften its public image in BC?”

My original question to them: “[Are] you concerned that Enbridge is using the BC Cancer Foundation to greenwash or soften its public image in BC in light of all the controversy its proposed project has generated?”

Their talking points question: “Given that the monies raised by the BC Cancer Foundation are going to a public body, the BC Cancer Agency, essentially Enbridge is providing funds to the provincial government, can you disclose the amount?”

My question: “Given these monies raised by the BC Cancer Foundation are going to a public body, the BC Cancer Agency, I have to ask you the specific amount of Enbridge’s financial contribution to the Foundation with regards to this event.”

Their talking points question: “How can you accept money from Enbridge, they are a cancer-causing organization? [It’s been proven that Benzene, found in petroleum products, is a carcinogen]. Would you accept money from a tobacco company?”

My question: “Is it hypocritical to accept sponsorship from a known cancer-causing company?”

The “best practices” responses provided are a study in the corporate PR art of deflection. You can read them yourself here, but of note to me was the layered responses to the key question – namely, how can you take money for cancer research from a company whose products cause cancer? (I won’t go into that point in detail here – you can read the basis for this contention in my original article – suffice it to say there is considerable evidence that oil and its byproducts cause cancer at various stages of its life cycle). Here are the instructions from the memo – picked up after the initial response isn’t working:

[If pushed on the Benzene/cancer causing questions] I’m not an expert in environmental factors as they relate to cancer. What I can tell you is that the Ride raises more money than any other cancer fundraising event in Canada and these dollars are supporting research with direct impacts on cancer outcomes in this province and across our country.

[If pushed. Verbal answer only] Nationally, Enbridge is in a three year sponsorship agreement for the Ride, which is helping to invest more dollars from the event into critical, live-saving research. The BC Cancer Foundation collects event related feedback from our Ride participants and the public, which will help us to inform future plans and agreements.

In other words, whatever you do, DO NOT ACTUALLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

I had also asked the Foundation whether it felt it was “problematic to be associated with such an unpopular company and project in BC?” (i.e., the controversial proposed Northern Gateway pipeline). The talking points response: “Ride participation for 2012 is on track to set a new record with over 3,000 riders. This event is very personal to these individuals because they are survivors or are honouring loved ones who have been taken by Cancer.”

And yet, they’re clearly concerned enough to go to the trouble of formulating an internal strategy for dealing with Enbridge blow-back. To date, to my knowledge, only my original column, a subsequent excerpt published in Common Ground Magazine, and the aforementioned Georgia Straight blog have drawn attention in the media to this issue. But with the enormous media focus and public awareness the battle over Enbridge’s pipeline is generating as we speak, that may be about to change.

I suggest it is time for the BC Cancer Foundation to put those talking points to use. After all, practice makes perfect. It is time for the organization – linked through its sole client, the Cancer Agency, to the BC Government – to hear from the public about its deplorable choice to provide a very unhealthy company a platform to greenwash its image at such a pivotal moment in its campaign to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline.

So go ahead and phone in or email your questions and concerns – and watch for those copied and pasted talking points! (You may even try reading along with them when they go into a given script – I know that one, that’s talking point #8 – my favourite!)

Lest I be accused of being down on cancer research in general, I’ve done a little research of my own – into alternatives to the Enbridge Ride.

Readers who wish to continue supporting cancer research through a cycling activity may choose to divert their funds from the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer to the “Ride2Survive” – described on the organization’s website as “a one-day cycling event from Kelowna to Delta BC to raise funds for cancer research through as an Independent Fundraising Event for the Canadian Cancer Society.” (emphasis mine) The organization also boasts that 100% of the funds raised from the ride go directly to cancer reserach, something few cancer reserach initiatives can claim.

And they don’t take money from Enbridge.

Breaking: Obama to Reject Keystone XL Pipeline Today (But Will Allow TCP to Re-apply with Different Route)

January 18, 2012Canada, Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Politics, Tar SandsAlberta Tar Sands, Keystone XL, Oil and gas, PoliticsCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story form the Washington Post, which reports that Obama is expected to reject the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline today. (Jan. 18, 2012)

The Obama administration will announce this afternoon it is rejecting a Canadian firm’s application for a permit to build and operate a massive oil pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border, according to sources who have been briefed on the matter.

However the administration will allow TransCanada to reapply after it develops an alternate route through the sensitive habitat of Nebraska’s Sandhills. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns will make the announcement, which comes in response to a congressionally-mandated deadline of Feb. 21 for action on the proposed Keystone pipeline.

Read original post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2012/01/18/gIQAwoVE8P_story.html

Must-Read! Fracking Linked to Oil Spill on Alberta Farm

January 18, 2012Energy and Resources, Fracking, Oil&Gasfracking, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this report from the Calgary Herald on a recent incident in Alberta which has focused even more scrutiny on hydraulic fracturing operations. (Jan. 17. 2012)

CALGARY – Hydraulic fracturing of an oil well in southern Alberta could have caused an oil well blowout a kilometre away, according to provincial regulators.

Friday afternoon, a landowner in the Garrington area west of Innisfail spotted a pumpjack spewing what appeared to be oil and chemicals onto his neighbour’s field.

Black fluid from the well sprayed 15 metres in the air until the man was able to alert a hydraulic fracturing crew working on a nearby well for Midway Energy.

They halted operations at the site, then shut down the Wild Stream Exploration pumpjack.

The Energy Resource Conservation Board was alerted about 5: 30 p.m. Friday by the Alberta Surface Rights Group at the behest of the landowner.

“We don’t know the details yet . . . but my understanding is that it appears the fracturing process affected the other well,” said an ERCB spokeswoman, Cara Tobin.

The incident could have repercussions around North America as the industry grapples with rising public discontent over rapidly increasing use of the technology to unlock shale gas and oil reserves.

Read story: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Hydraulic%20fracturing%20have%20caused%20well%20blowout%20near%20Innisfail/6003589/story.html?cid=megadrop_story&mid=58033

100% Opposition to Enbridge from NEB Hearings in Smithers

January 18, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from the Vancouver Observer, reporting that every speaker at the recent National Energy Board-led hearings in Smithers into the proposed Enbridge pipeline spoke out against the project. (Jan 17, 2012)

It’s unanimous: all of the interveners who gave testimony to the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel in Smithers oppose the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. The Wet’suwet’en, BC Métis and Stikine MLA Doug Donaldson all asserted the Bulkley Valley is shared by different cultures which share a dependence on clean rivers for wild salmon.

Without salmon, none of the communities could thrive. The proposed pipeline puts the wild salmon and other wild food at risk.

The Wet’suwet’en have stood up for their heritage many times in the past.With the Gitxsan First Nation they blockaded logging in their traditional territory in the late 1980s, an action which culminated in the Delgamuukw decision of 1997. In that case, the Supreme Court of Canada held that aboriginal title is protected by the constitution and oral history can be presented as evidence of title.

Twenty two Wet’suwet’en spoke for about 15 minutes each. They identified themselves by chief status, house and clan, matrilineal lineage, patrilineal lineage, grandparents, mother, father, siblings, number of children and grandchildren.

Read story: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/sustainability/2012/01/17/enbridge-northern-gateway-joint-review-panel-smithers-finds-100-opposition

Tom Flethcher: Enbridge Gateway Won’t Happen (But Kinder-Morgan Expansion to Vancouver Will)

January 18, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, KinderMorgan, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this column from Black Press’s Tom Fletcher, predicting that the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline won’t go ahead, while Kinder-Morgan’s plans to twin the Trans Mountain Pipeline to Vancouver will. (Jan. 17, 2012)

After following the opening phase of the National Energy Board’s hearings on the Northern Gateway oil pipeline proposal, I have a prediction.

B.C. will never see this pipeline. And that’s probably the best outcome.

The first reason is the nearly unanimous opposition of informed Kitimat-area residents, led by Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Ellis Ross and skilled local volunteers who described the marine environment of the Kitimat estuary…

…B.C.’s likeliest alternative for oilsands crude is the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which has been pumping Alberta oil and refined products to the West Coast at Burrard Inlet for nearly 60 years. Port Moody’s Ioco refinery is gone, but Chevron’s Burnaby plant remains, and some crude goes out by tanker or pipeline to refineries south of B.C.

The current owner of Trans Mountain, Kinder Morgan Canada, is naturally watching the Enbridge battle closely. A Kinder Morgan representative provided the following information about tanker traffic from their Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.

Read column: http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/137496303.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150478275935773_19919729_10150478902555773#f1c0962d74c6416

Audio: Damien Talks EthicalOil.org, Harper and Enbridge on CHLY

January 17, 2012Canada, Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and Supertankers, Politics, Western CanadaAudio, BC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Ethical Oil, Ezra Levant, Oil and gas, PoliticsDamien Gillis

Get MP3 (51 MB)

Listen to Damien Gillis on CHLY’s A Sense of Justice from last week, discussing Enbridge and Kinder-Morgan’s proposed Tar Sands pipelines through BC. Damien and host Rae Kornberger cover the National Energy Board’s recently-begun hearings into the Northern Gateway Pipeline to Kitimat and the contention by fake grassroots group EthicalOil.org and the Harper Government that foreign interests are behind BC’s opposition to the project. Is there any truth to these claims and what is the relationship between EthicalOil.org and the Harper Government? (41 min – from Jan. 11)

More on EthicalOil.org and Harper: Hamish Marshall Hosts Websites for Joe Oliver, John Cummins and EthicalOil.org

January 16, 2012Canada, Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and Supertankers, PoliticsBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Ethical Oil, Oil and gas, PoliticsDamien Gillis

Read this in-depth report from DeSmogBlog.org exposing more connections between “astroturf” group EthicalOil.org and the Harper Conservatives. (Jan 14, 2012)

The Ethical Oil-Harper government revolving door doesn’t end there. Hamish Marshall is married to EthicalOil spokeswoman Kathryn Marshall, who took over last fall when her predecessor Alykhan Velshi moved into the Prime Minister’s Office as the director of planning.

Hamish Marshall, through strategicimperativesonline, has registered 32 websites. Nearly all are connected to EthicalOil.org, the Conservative Party of Canada, and the right wing Alberta Wildrose Alliance Party.

Both ethicaloil.org’s americans4opec.com and chiquitaconflict.com are hosted on the server, as is Kathryn Marshall’s personal website, kathrynmarshall.ca…

The web gets really interesting when you look at the other sites registered on Marshall’s server.

Conservative Party candidates with websites hosted on Hamish Marshall’s server include Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, one of the most vocal proponents of the tar sands. Oliver’s open letter last week refers to the “environmental and other radical groups that would seek to block this opportunity to diversify our trade”. See the WhoIs profile for www.JoeOliver.ca.

Read article: http://www.desmogblog.com/cozy-ties-astroturf-ethical-oil-and-conservative-alliance-promote-tar-sands-expansion

Leaked Memo Shows Cancer Foundation Facing Criticism Over Enbridge Sponsoring its “Ride to Conquer Cancer”

January 14, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story form The Georgia Straight online, which reveals a leaked internal talking points memo at the BC Cancer Foundation to address growing criticism its title sponsor for the annual “Ride to Conquer Cancer” – controversial oil pipeline builder, Enbridge. (Jan 12, 2012)

Critics of Enbridge and its title sponsorship of the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer like to note that petroleum, which is the company’s business, is a source of carcinogens, such as benzene. And the B.C. Cancer Foundation is obviously hearing about these concerns.

The Georgia Straight has obtained a revised draft of talking points about the Enbridge sponsorship set to be circulated by the foundation to its staff. The Q&A is intended to help foundation staff deal with questions from the public on its acceptance of money from a “cancer-causing organization” and other related matters.

Read memo: http://www.straight.com/article-583381/vancouver/talking-points-show-bc-cancer-foundation-facing-tough-questions-enbridge-sponsorship