The researchers concluded that “citizens participating in the assessment of future offshore oil and gas developments need to be aware of lack of transparency of the environmental management in Nfld. and understand that they may be excluded from fully understanding the realized environmental impacts of the offshore oil and gas industry.”
That concern has expanded to the political realm. The House of Commons natural resources committee has begun studying deepwater drilling, with a focus on the Arctic but also an eye on Newfoundland. The responsibility for drilling safety in general, and deepwater drilling specifically, is squarely on the shoulders of the oil companies and regulators, according to Jack Harris.
“They’re the ones who have to establish to Canadians that it is safe, that what happened in the Gulf of Mexico cannot happen in these circumstances, and what measures are being taken to prevent that,” says Harris, a St. John’s MP who serves as deputy energy critic for the federal New Democrats.
He suggests that there needs to be more transparency surrounding environmental concerns. “One of the questions that keeps coming up with respect to environmental protection of the offshore (is) we have what’s called a self-reporting system,” Harris says. “There is, effectively, no independent environmental monitoring of the effects of what happens to birds, and the seabed, what’s going into the water, what the consequences of it are.”
While there have been no major incidents to date, the possibilities could be catastrophic. “It’s one of these situations where the risk may be low, but the consequences are high,” Harris notes.
In early May, Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave assurances that what happened in the Gulf could not happen in Canada. “It truly is horrific, an environmental nightmare,” Harper said in the House of Commons. “The behaviour of the companies involved was completely unacceptable. Fortunately, we have much stricter rules in Canada to prevent such a disaster.”
The same day Harper made those comments, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams pledged to “adopt the best practices in the world.” The Province commissioned master mariner and industry veteran Mark Turner to assess offshore oil spill prevention and response.
Despite the soothing words, the days and weeks following the Gulf tragedy saw critical media reports pop up like spring dandelions. The stories questioned recent regulatory changes that moved the Newfoundland offshore to a goal-oriented approach for safety and oversight, rather than a prescriptive one where the regulator outlines conditions that must be met. They also noted the length of time it would take to move a rig to the Orphan Basin to drill a relief well in case of emergency: at least 11 days.
Ruelokke, meanwhile, downplays the regulatory change, which came into effect at the beginning of the year. The C-NLOPB now reviews safety-related aspects of work, and authorizes activity if it is satisfied. There is no longer any checklist of things that must be done. “But the centre of gravity, so to speak, is shifted where it belongs, back onto the back of the operator to maintain a safe environment,” Ruelokke says.
As for transparency, he says the board is hamstrung by a section of the Atlantic Accord act that prevents the C-NLOPB from releasing certain information. He hints that the board may lobby the government to make changes. “We have no issue with transparency. We work within the legislation we have.”
Ruelokke acknowledges the realities of drilling in deep water have put technology to the test. The struggles to contain the Gulf spill are proof of that. “The board’s focus is, and always has been, and will continue to be, on prevention.” No spill, no need for a cleanup; It’s that simple.
The level of oversight off Newfoundland, he notes, is significantly higher than in the Gulf of Mexico. Just look at the numbers, Ruelokke says. There are 4,000 installations in the Gulf overseen by 600 workers with the U.S. regulator, the now-disgraced Minerals Management Service. By contrast, 70 people at the C-NLOPB provide oversight to just six installations. “We have much more ability to put people at sites than they have just because of the numbers.”
The board is considering other changes, such as increasing the maximum financial guarantees for which companies are liable. The current limit is $350-million. (BP had reportedly spent more than $1-billion in the Gulf as of early June.)
