The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has denied an application from energy company Bernum Petroleum to drill two new oil wells 4.7 kilometres east of Cochrane.
ERCB communications advisor Bob Curran said the reason for the denial was due to economics, and that the plan put forward by Bernum did not meet the board’s desire to conserve gas in the area, as it would have involved the practice of flaring and/or incineration.
“In Alberta, you have to have a permit to flare gas,” said Curran, adding that the ERCB had developed a formula to determine if flaring would be uneconomic in this particular application from Bernum, and concluded that it would.
Bernum’s application included drilling two horizontal oil wells and the construction of a multi-well battery.
A battery is a facility where liquids obtained from one or more wells are stored before those liquids are processed for market, delivered to market or disposed of. Curran said the ERCB’s decision was also based on the fact that Bernum’s plan could not accommodate the company’s future development plans in the area, and that the company indicated it would need to drill additional wells in the area to meet that need.
A public hearing to address Bernum’s application was held in Calgary from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5 last year.
At the hearing, the ERCB received an objection to the application from the landowners — Timothy and Frances Bancroft — of the proposed surface locations. Several additional residents from the Meskanaw and Glendale communities also filed objections to the drilling plan.
The Bancrofts said they believe Bernum failed to recognize the sensitivity of the area, which is situated between Calgary and Cochrane urban areas and has country residential development.
As for the battery site, the Bancrofts argued that although the plan was to be constructed on a single location, Bernum’s admittance that it may need to drill additional locations to the west negated that benefit.
Some residents in and around Cochrane have raised concerns regarding the use of flare stacks.
The ERCB noted that the construction of an affluent pipeline before the onset of production would eliminate the need for continuous flaring or incineration.
With this particular application from Bernum, the use of flaring or incineration would still be required during completion, cleanup and the testing phases of the operation, and the ERCB would have opted for the use of an incinerator to mitigate concerns about visual aesthetics and noise associated with flare stacks.
