ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD
Acho Dene Koe First Nation has signed its first project benefits agreement with an oil and gas producer working in its traditional area.

Dave Rushford, left, Quicksilver Resources Canada Inc.'s senior vice-president and chief operating officer, signs the project benefits agreement after Acho Dene Koe First Nation's chief Harry Deneron, and band councillor Jim Duntra, obscured, during a community celebration in Fort Liard April 29. - photo courtesy of John Curran

Chief Harry Deneron and band councillor Jim Duntra signed an agreement with Quicksilver Resources Canada Inc. on behalf of the First Nation during a community ceremony and barbecue April 29.

The First Nation and the company spent more than a year negotiating the agreement that is linked to Quicksilver's Fortune Creek Gas Plant.

The plant, once built, will be in Quicksilver's shale gas project located in the Horn River basin area in northern B.C.

The agreement, which is designed to grow as the project does, establishes a working relationship between the two groups and covers financial support, training, development and work within First Nation companies. Deneron wants to see the First Nation use the agreement to support young community members in getting further education so they can get skilled jobs in the field of oil and gas – particularly as gas plant operators.

"We just don't have enough skilled people to work in the oil field," he said.

Many community members don't even have the necessary certifications to work as a labourer in the field, he said.

The agreement will also be used to help residents get those qualifications.

People are excited about the agreement and the ceremony was well attended, said Deneron.

The agreement was signed for the whole community and will bring benefits to more than just band members, he added.

Deneron acknowledged that all of the community's needs can't be solved with one agreement,

but that it will help.

"We hope that we can come to some kind of engagement with other producers in that area," he said.

Multiple agreements would ensure more long-term development for residents.

"It's a win-win thing," said Deneron.

The First Nation has had agreements in the past, including with TransCanada Pipelines Ltd., but never with an oil and gas producer.

Quicksilver was already known in the community. Local companies and the band's economic arms have been working for Quicksilver for years.

Once the gas plant is under construction, Deneron hopes the community's camp and catering services will be called on again.

This is the first project benefits agreement Quicksilver has signed for its Horn River basin area project.

"It gives us a tremendous platform for moving forward," said Dave Rushford, the company's senior vice-president and chief operating officer.

Quicksilver, which is a Calgary-based subsidiary of Quicksilver Resources Inc. based in Fort Worth, Texas, has approximately 130,000 acres in its Horn River basin project located immediately south of the NWT/B.C. border and east of Highway 77.

The company is currently looking for a joint venture partner before drilling operations begin.

The plant has received an approval from the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office and is now with the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission for a permit to build the plant.

Once the area is built up, Quicksilver expects to produce 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

"It's a world-scale asset," Rushford said.

The Fortune Creek plant, which is currently licensed for 600 million cubic feet per day, will take the raw gas and purify it to pipeline specifications so it can be transported. The plant is expected to create several hundred jobs during construction and several dozen during operation. One of the objectives of the benefits agreement is to get as much local employment as possible, said Rushford.

The agreement should be beneficial to both parties, he said.

"It's balanced and it's fair."