Canadian oil companies no longer need to have relief-well plans

[charlesg]

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Canadian+companies+longer+need+have+relief+well+plans/3110577/story.html

Canadian oil companies no longer need to have relief-well plans
New guidelines don't mention the wells, which are designed to plug leaks. BP is drilling two in the Gulf of Mexico to halt the massive spill
By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service June 4, 2010

The Harper government has watered down regulations governing oil drilling off Canada's East Coast so that oil companies don't need a backup plan to drill a relief well in the event of a blowout.

Under the previous federal regulations, companies were required to develop contingency plans and have equipment in place to deal with a range of emergencies, including "a situation requiring the drilling of a relief well." Canada has four offshore oil projects, all off Newfoundland. The projects are regulated by a federal-provincial agency called the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.

Previous board guidelines said companies were expected to identify a rig that can drill a relief well. Companies also were expected to provide details about the relief rig's "operating capability, its location, contractual commitments, state of readiness and the schedule for mobilization to the well site."

But under the new regulations, which came into force in December, companies aren't required to have relief-well plans... The Canadian regulatory changes are part of a shift from "prescriptive" regulations that require companies to have specific environmental safeguards in place, to "goal-oriented" rules that supporters say give companies more flexibility to adopt the latest spill-response technology. But critics believe it is foolhardy to approve offshore projects without knowing exactly how operators would drill a relief well...

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Sickening new images of helpless wildlife dying in BP oil:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

[liberal N proud]

1. Evidently neither did the oil companies in the Gulf.

[marmar]

2. Canadians will rue the day that POS became prime minister.....

nt

[napi21]

3. I wonder if they're rethinking hei decision since this Gulf mess?

Apparently the oil cos, managed to convince Canada there was no problem, just as they did the Pubs in the US. I hope they rethink this & not have to face what we're facing now.

[Trillo]

4. Plans? Only Plans? Seems like relief wells should be required to be drilled

at about the same time as the main well, so that if blowout occurs, it only takes a few days to finish the relief well and plug the gusher, instead of 2-3 months or more. So it seems Canada is being corrupted by BigCorp as well.

The best case scenario may be to get the whole world off oil, somehow.

[skeptical cynic]

5. '..."goal-oriented" rules...'

Being corporations saving a buck and donating part of that to political campaigns.