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Leaks found in shale gas wells: Que.

report
31 were inspected 'and more than half have problems,' says
envrionmental expert
CBC News Posted: Jan 05, 2011 11:19 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 05, 2011 3:53 PM ET
Quebec's Ministry of Natural Resources has found leaks in more than half the shale gas
wells it inspected, according to a report compiled for the province's environmental
protection agency.
Of 31 wells inspected, 19 showed "natural gas emissions," according to the 35-page
report dated Dec. 7. The report is available to the public in French on the website of
BAPE, Quebec's environmental protection agency.
According to Article 60 of the Quebec Mining Act, "if a well is closed temporarily it
must be left in a condition that will prevent a fluid or gas flow from the well."
The nature and the extent of the emissions are not clear and nobody at the ministry
was available to comment.
"In the document ... they just write 'natural gas emission' ... well, we have to know
exactly what kind of gas it is," said Andr Belisle, president of the Quebec Association
Against Atmospheric Pollution.
He believes the emissions are probably methane, which Belisle said are much more
harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
Belisle said the leaks are proof more scientific studies need to be done to assess the
environmental impact of shale gas exploration in Quebec.
"It proves that we're totally right when we ask for a moratorium," said Belisle. "Things
have been going too fast and all kinds of problems are occurring everywhere from all
sides."
Belisle is demanding the government reveal more information about its test results.
"We have [issued] permits believing everything would go right ... we know now that it
doesn't," said Belisle.

Along the river

Quebec has already allowed gas exploration in low-lying regions along the St.

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Lawrence River, where there are deposits of the gas trapped in shale bedrock.
Extracting shale involves blasting water and chemicals under intense pressure into
rock formations deep below the Earth's surface to liberate the gas, in a process called
"hydraulic fracturing," or fracking.
According to the report by the Ministry of Natural Resources, there are 603 drilling
exploration sites in the province, with some dating back to the 1950s.
The wells that were found to have leaks belong to Talisman Energy, Gastem,
Canbriam, Questerre and Canadian Forest Oil and date back to 2006.
They are located in three main regions targeted by the oil and gas industry for shale
gas exploration, including the regional county municipalities of Lotbiniere and
Becancour southwest of Quebec City, and Les Maskoutains northeast of Montreal.
Alberta-based Talisman Energy owns 11 of the wells cited in ministry's report, but
spokesperson Hope Deveau-Henderson said leaks are a common occurrence.
"We drill wells to produce gas, to flow gas. Sometimes that gas can flow out of the
well. If there are indications of that we address it," she said.
Deveau-Henderson confirmed the emissions are methane but added workers are
trained to deal with that type of leak and said they are a normal part of the
exploration process.
"It's not unusual to have gas flows, or the potential for gas flows," she said.

BAPE asks for clarification

Earlier this year, the government ordered the BAPE to put the shale gas industry
under the microscope, and report back with recommendations on how to develop the
industry.
The report is expected in February 2011.
On Dec. 22, the BAPE sent a letter to the Natural Resources Ministry looking for
certain clarifications based on its report.
A BAPE commissioner asked ministry officials to provide details on the inspections and
what observations were made for each well. It goes on to say "can you also specify
where the gas emissions were coming from? What are the consequences and risks of
such emissions, and what corrective measures, if any, you ordered?"
The letter asks a reply be sent by Jan. 7, but Delisle thinks the only solution is a
moratorium.
"You can see it just like us," he said, noting more than half the sites inspected had

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problems.

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