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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - JANUARY 2012
A
PR I L WI LL MARK
two years since the BP Gulf of Mexico oil
spill, an environmental catastrophe that saw 205.8 million
gallons of oil leaked into the Atlantic Ocean and the
contamination of over 665 miles of coastline. The spill will forever
remind of the consequences of accidents that can occur as a result
of offshore drilling—and regardless of who is to blame; spills
impact the natural environment indefinitely.
Two years on, and the oil industry
is still carefully examining the
causes of the Gulf spill, especially
in resource rich nations where oil
production is a vital part of the
economy. In Canada, the spill
spawned a revisit of offshore oil
health, safety, and environment
practices. In order to understand at
the full spectrum of the Canadian
oil industry’s reaction to the spill
and its consequences, CIO spoke to
Paul Barnes, Manager for Atlantic
Canada for the Canadian Associa-
tion of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).
One message resounded: although
Canada has seen its fair share of
bad press around the oil industry,
the offshore oil industry sets the bar
for health, safety, and environment.
COMMITMENT FROM OFFSHORE
OPERATORS
As there is comparatively limited
offshore activity in Canada, public
and private organizations believed
following the Gulf disaster that the
time for review of the Canadian
regulatory environment was nigh.
The Gulf oil spill triggered a chain
of events for Canadian oil
companies, most centred around
the re-examination of policies and
procedures related to accidents on
offshore rigs. One thing was
certain—offshore operators, regula-
tors, and governments came togeth-
er to look at the lessons that needed
to be learned from the Gulf incident.
A process began that would involve
CAPP’s representation of the offshore
industry. Were there changes
needed? How much regulation and
policy are enough?
The Canadian industry, accord-
ing to CAPP, has been not only
cooperating with governments and
regulators, but has been actively
participating in the ongoing discus-
sion on response capabilities and
spill prevention in Canada. Exam-
ples provided by CAPP include the
presentation made by the associa-
tion to Senate, the House of Com-
CAPP —
A PROMISING FUTURE FOR
CANADIAN OFFSHORE OIL
COVER STORY - OFFSHORE OIL