INUVIK
With at least one application for offshore drilling in the Beaufort Sea expected next year, the National Energy Board is ramping up its commitment to public consultation in the process.
Gaetan Caron: Conducted a public forum April 11 at Ingamo Hall. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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For the second time this year, board president Gaetan Caron was in Inuvik April 11 to host a community forum at Ingamo Hall. Although attendance was sparse, Caron still carried on a lively conversation with the spectators.
"It's probably the third time we've been here since the Gulf of Mexico incident," Caron said. "We said the dialogue would continue and it will. We keep coming back."
The application expected in 2014 for exploration work is from Imperial Oil.
That wasn't lost on residents like Dave Kaufman, who had several pointed questions for Caron.
"Will the NEB have the ability to inspect the equipment on-site?" he asked.
Caron said that was definitely the intent.
Kaufman also asked how the company was planning "to get the product out."
"Will they be shipping it?" he said.
Outside mandates
Caron said that aspect was somewhat outside the mandate of the board, and reiterated the application would be for exploration work.
Other residents questioned the entire concept. One man asked "has anyone drilled this deep before in the Beaufort Sea?"
Caron said he wasn't sure of the Beaufort, but there are definitely wells in the world as deep or deeper as what's likely to be proposed. He said he believed the work in the Beaufort Sea would be comparable to the Gulf of Mexico.
Earlier Thursday, Caron sat down for an interview with the Drum. He said that without any applications being filed, the board has no real reason to be in Inuvik or the Delta region, but the issue is important enough for it to prepare the public consultation ground work.
"We want people to tell us about their concerns with the process," he said. "It's all about preparing for the future. Our role is to have the people ready to be effective, to have input, and our job is to consider all we've heard. We're here because it's the right thing to do."
He chose his words carefully when he was asked to describe the general sentiments of the local public to offshore drilling.
"The views of people are very diverse, just like any energy program in the south," he said. "But I find people are asking the right questions. I understand their concerns.
"Our job as the board is to consider all that we've heard, before we make a decision," Caron added.
He's been with the board for 33 years, having begun his career as a junior engineer.
"I've been here forever," he said with a chuckle. "It'll be my sixth year as chair this September.
"You have to treat the job as a new job every morning," he said. "You have to re-invent yourself every day.
