Two areas are up for bid for offshore gas and oil exploration near and surrounding Sable Island.
The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) recently issued the call for bids, which has sparked concern from environmental groups.
Chris Miller, with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, finds the timing of the bidding odd.
“Parks Canada has just undertaken a very comprehensive, public consultation to gather feedback from Canadians about how to better protect Sable Island and this call for bids was released the day after that consultation closed.”
The ‘Let’s Talk Sable Island’ survey closed December 9, CNSOPB’s call for bids was announced December 10.
Miller is concerned over what could happen in the case of an oil spill.
But he’s also worried about a provision in Bill S-15, which established Sable Island as a national park reserve.
The provision allows for low-impact exploration activities on the island under the Accord Acts legislation, which governs offshore petroleum activities and is administered by CNSOPB.
“The final say does not rest with Parks Canada … the final say rests with the petroleum board,” says Miller.
Although there has been oil and gas exploration near and on Sable Island in the past, Miller feels it’s inappropriate now.
Stacy O’Rourke, spokesperson for the CNSOPB, says there’s a one nautical mile exclusion zone around Sable Island where oil and gas drilling is not allowed.
She explains what is allowed on the island, in consultation with Parks Canada:
“It also includes provisions that do allow for low impact exploration activity, such as seismic-surveys as well as aero magnetic and aero-gravity surveys.”
O’Rourke says says every year their geoscience team chooses parcels based on data on where gas and oil has been found, as well as environmental impacts.
“There have been in that area, within the Sable sub-basin, there have been 23 significant discoveries made to date,” she says, adding most of the discoveries have been natural gas.
O’Rourke says bidding is just step one in the process and even if a company leases a parcel, it doesn’t mean they’ll get permission to drill.
Bidding closes February 8, 2019.
In an email to our newsroom, Parks Canada confirmed low-impact exploration activities are allowed but so far no proposals for such exploration have come forward.
A Parks Canada spokesperson says they and CNSOPB are working on creating additional definitions on what low-impact activities could be permitted at Sable Island National Park Reserve.
In the meantime however, a petition has been started by several environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, calling for the new parcels to be cancelled.
The Campaign To Protect Offshore Nova Scotia (CPONS) is also asking for a public inquiry into offshore drilling.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
