“Everything Is Going To Be OK”
ConocoPhillips Looks Past Crisis Towards Market Fundamentals
Sour Gas Feuding Spreads to B.C
After three explosions and counter-terrorist investigations that attracted international attention, the RCMP blamed fall attacks against northeastern British Columbia pipelines on local friction over development of “sour” natural gas tinged with hazardous hydrogen sulphide. Even finding the lines that were targeted takes intimate familiarity with the remote region, police said after the third bombing on Oct. 31.
“When looking at when and where the attacks occurred, it is safe to say that the person or persons responsible knows how to locate the sites and has knowledge of the sites,” RCMP Sgt. Tim Shields said following the third explosion in wooded, hilly terrain of the Tomslake area between Dawson Creek and the B.C. boundary with Alberta. “For a person to have this information, they would likely have to be from the immediate area or have spent significant time in the area.”
The first two attacks, on Oct. 11 and Oct. 16, drew global media attention when the RCMP designated the gas lines as “critical infrastructure” and sent an elite squad – INSET, the integrated national security enforcement team – to the sparsely populated area. The owner of the lines, EnCana Corp., called the bombings “vandalism,” rated the damage as minor and reported the gas involved contained only traces of hydrogen sulphide in concentrations as low as 0.0005 per cent.
There were no injuries or pipeline leaks big enough to be considered threats to public safety. Shields acknowledged the arrival of the counter-terrorism team and resulting global media glare could themselves arouse fear. “Often on a local level when high profile events such as this occur and numerous police resources and media outlets show up, it further raises the concerns of residents in the area,” the RCMP sergeant said after EnCana and the police held a town meeting to restore calm in Tomslake by releasing facts of the case.
The attacks followed delivery of an anonymous threatening note to northern B.C. media. The 66-word, hand-printed letter called oil companies “terrorists… endangering our families with crazy expansion of deadly gas wells in our home lands.” An RCMP news release ruled out involvement in the B.C. case by Alberta’s most celebrated sour-gas protester, Wiebo Ludwig, who served 19 months in prison after late-1990s attacks on industry facilities.
Issue Contents
Entries