New Sour Gas Requirements for Alberta
Authors: DeSorcy Gerry J. 
Published: March 2010

Introduction

The sour gas industry has been active in Alberta for some 50 years. About one-third of the remaining reserves of gas contain hydrogen sulphide and are thereby considered sour gas. The future potential reserves of Alberta are estimated to range from 2,000 to 4,000 billion cubic metres and it is anticipated that up to three quarters of these could be found in geological regions that typically contain hydrogen sulphide. For the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, future potential reserves will be much greater, and a significant percentage may be sour.

The Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) is responsible for the approval of proposed sour gas facilities in the Province of Alberta and for the regulation of sour gas facilities and operations. Sour gas is very toxic to humans and animals at relatively low concentrations. Therefore, the exploration for and production of sour gas must be undertaken with specialized equipment and procedures to assure worker and public safety, as well as protection of the environment.

As a result of increasing concerns regarding growth and operation of sour gas wells and facilities near both rural and urban development, a review of the adequacy of current regulatory requirements was deemed desirable by the EUB. The EUB wanted this review to include the widest spectrum of input from those stakeholders ultimately affected by sour gas development, and in particular, the general public living in sour gas areas.

To conduct this review, the EUB, in January, 2000, formed an Advisory Committee on Public Safety and Sour Gas (the Advisory Committee) to review and make recommendations respecting the sour gas regulatory system. The Advisory Committee was made up of 22 members, reflecting a broad cross-section of stakeholders affected by sour gas development. It also included experts from disciplines such as risk management and health. The result was a committee with members from the public, including First Nations, municipalities, the local development industry, regional health authorities, relevant government departments, universities, and the sour gas industry.

The Advisory Committee's mandate centred on a review and assessment of public health and safety-related requirements currently being applied to the approval, development, and operation of sour gas facilities in Alberta. Although the Committee's focus was on public health and safety, many of its recommendations are broad in nature and have the potential to address essentially all concerns related to sour gas.

The Advisory Committee used a variety of methods to improve its understanding of the current regulatory system and to receive input into its effectiveness. These included presentations by a number of experts on various related issues, a series of regional discussion sessions in twelve provincial locations directly affected by sour gas development, meetings in First Nations and Metis communities, a random telephone survey, response forms, and written submissions.

The Advisory Committee then prepared what it called a Directions document setting out the direction the Committee was moving towards in terms of its recommendations. It then went back to the communities and sought input on the Directions document.