WWF response to approval of offshore drilling plans allowing twelve days to cap oil well blowouts

TORONTO, October 21, 2015 – On October 19, Shell Canada Ltd received approval from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board to drill in the Shelburne Basin, allowing them 12 days to cap well blowouts.
 

The decision comes in stark contrast to the recent U.S. ruling in Alaska that requires capping stack technology be on site within 24 hours of a blowout. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the body responsible for federal environmental impact assessments, claims that forcing Shell to apply capping technology within 24 hours in the Shelburne Basin, off the coast of Nova Scotia, would make the company’s exploratory work “prohibitively expensive.”
 

This decision follows the Government of Canada’s approval in August 2015.
 

WWF-Canada works to ensure offshore oil and gas activities in Canadian waters are carried out in a safe and responsible manner, and supports the U.S. decision to require a capping stack be onsite within 24 hours of a blowout. The following is a statement from WWF-Canada President and CEO David Miller:
 

“Approving this plan is in direct opposition to recent US regulations which require capping stacks to be onsite within 24 hours of a blowout. The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board has essentially given Shell Canada Ltd a license to pollute for twelve days without consequence. 

 
The Shelburne Basin is next to some of Canada’s richest fishing grounds and supports endangered marine wildlife including Atlantic right whales, blue whales and leatherback turtles. Allowing an oil well blowout to continue for 12 days off the coast of Nova Scotia could have a devastating impact on the province’s marine environment, its fisheries, and the people and communities who depend on them.”  

-30-
 

For further information contact
 

Rebecca Spring, WWF-Canada, [email protected], +1 647-338-6274