Philippe Morin
Northern News Services
Monday, April 02, 2007

Norman Wells - Natural gas will stop flowing in Norman Wells one year from now.

Pius Rolheiser, a spokesman for Imperial Oil in Calgary, said the company has cancelled its natural gas contract with the hamlet, effective April 1, 2008.

"Production from the oil field is declining. The oil field is basically showing its age," he said.

Rolheiser said natural gas is a byproduct of the oil extraction process, and that Imperial currently supplies the hamlet with gas, for power and electricity generation. Now, with less oil being produced, he said the deal cannot continue.

"We will be seeking a new contract, and we would make our best efforts to supply as much as we could. But we can't guarantee a certain volume of gas," he said.

Rolheiser said one solution would be looking for nearby oil deposits and drilling.

He added liquid propane could also be brought to the hamlet by truck or barge, and mixed with air.

This would create a natural gas substitute, he said, which might allow Norman Wells to keep its current infrastructure despite the shortage.

"With every barrel of oil or cubic meter that is produced, there's some associated natural gas that is produced," he said. "That natural gas provides not only fuel for the town of Norman Wells, but it also powers the turbines that create electricity. Some also needs to be reinjected into the oil fields to maintain pressure," he said.

As of March 29, Rolheiser said there were no clear estimates on when the oil wells would be completely spent.

Despite a steady decline of "a few per cent a year," he said, the wells might still be active by 2020, albeit at a reduced rate.

However, the cutoff date could be earlier. No one really knows.

"We're probably looking at somewhere between years and decades," he said.

Norman Wells' oilfields have been producing oil since the 1920s, but production was significantly increased in the 1980s.

Town officials could not be reached for comment by deadline. This deadline doesn't come as a surprise, however, as Imperial warned last September that the supply of natural gas was running out.