Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

FORT LIARD (Aug 06/99) - On July 29, Paramount Resources Ltd. filed application with the National Energy Board to begin work on a 200-kilometre pipeline and a gas plant near Fort Liard.

Company officials were in Liard last week, holding a public meeting to answer questions on the proposed project and subsequent impact on the hamlet.

Paramount president Clay Riddell, who first came to Liard 40 years ago, says the discovery has been a long time coming.

"We've made several tries to make this work up here," Riddell said. "We drilled two wells back in 1979 and 1980 with no success."

Stalled again by politics, Riddell waited out the storm.

"We went through 15 years of land claims, when it was unavailable for exploration," he said. "When it became available, three or four years ago, we filed some permits jointly with Berkley and subsequently joined up with Unical, Shell and other people who all were doing exploration here."

They've spent a lot of time and money on this project, he said, and they are eager to get the gas moving.

"We managed to spend $75 million over the last three or four years and finally last year we made a significant discovery.

"It's the best well I've ever drilled," he said. "We only have one well, so the aerial extent of the discovery is yet to be proven."

Paramount officials said they will have a better idea just how large the discovery is at the first well by the end of this week.

Delineation wells are being drilled this week to determine just how big the F-36 discovery well is, said Paramount consultant Wayne Rousch. Once the volume is determined, the company will start construction. Paramount will tie a total of five wells into the pipeline as well as some wells in northern British Columbia.

"The wells will be drilled over a two-month period and, assuming they are successful, we'll have enough information to make a significant commitment to build a gas plant and all the pipelines necessary to get the product to market," said Rousch.

Acho Dene Koe Chief Harry Deneron said the discovery will be good for the community and says the gas will allow Fort Liard a level of self-sufficiency that would otherwise not be available.

Deneron says he's looking to maximize the potential for employment, not just the royalties that will come with a settlement.

"The land claim only brings in royalties, so that's just a continuation of the government handout -- you don't have to work for it, it just comes to you.

"I have a problem with that," he said. "I believe that going after the exploration part of it created a lot of jobs for the community and the spin off is great."

Paramount is committed to providing jobs to local people, said Riddell.

"It's going to mean jobs," he assured. "We are negotiating a joint venture (with the Liard Band) on the pipeline, but I don't know if that's going to happen or not."

Riddell said the boon to the community will benefit anyone who wants a job as well as instill a sense of pride in the hamlet.

"I think it affords the community the opportunity to be more than self-sufficient and everybody that wants a job can have a job -- and a good job, a well paying job.

"It will bring some amenities to the community they haven't enjoyed before," Riddell said. "Some of the amenities they have now, but more often than not, it's just what the federal government feels like giving them.

"I think this will be a lot nicer because they've earned it -- it's not a handout."

Chief Deneron said that with cutbacks coming from the government, leaders must look to what's best for the people.

"If you don't work with industry, you're going to miss out on a lot," Deneron said. "The minister (Jane Stewart of DIAND) said we will continue to see cutbacks from Ottawa, therefore they're going to cutback on education and this and that, and they're looking for money to cover these things. Well, we feel the same way at the community level. We'd like to do more for the people out of the workforce and the youth, but we only get $113,000 a year from the government -- you can do very little with that."

Deneron added that the resource rich area will bring the people independence from government.

"We'd like to be self-supporting and not relying on government all the time," he said. "This is a new world and a new way. Aboriginal people just can't afford to sit back anymore. They have to get on with whatever it is that faces us.

"You just can't sit back and cry the blues about it -- get involved."

Rousch said the delineation wells will affirm the discovery and test the quality of the gas.

"As you make an investment like this you want to be sure of what you have," Rousch said.

He said the F-36 well contains sweet gas that is easier to process than sour gas, which contains byproducts that must be removed.

"It's sweet gas, so it doesn't have the increased costs of equipment to handle the gas," Rousch said. "You have to take the H2S and the gas and depending on the quantities Co2 as well."

The raw gas goes through a cooling process where the water is separated from the gas in a battery to be built near the well site.

"As you cool the gas down liquid will come out."

There are standards to meet before pumping the gas into the market network, he added.

"You have to meet the specifications of the Westcoast Pipeline System," Rousch said. "They have certain levels of how much liquid you can have in a gas or how much sulphur you can have or how much Co2."