NOTICE OF RESCHEDULING OF HEARING
APPLICATIONS NO. 1520574, 1521626, AND 1521704
HIGHPINE OIL AND GAS LIMITED (HIGHPINE)
PROCEEDING NO. 1577611
HIGHPINE ENERGY LTD. (HIGHPINE)
PEMBINA FIELD
Take Notice that the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB/Board) had scheduled a public hearing of Applications No. 1520574, 1521626 and 1521704 and Proceeding No. 1577611 at the Tomahawk & District AgriCentre, 51122 Secondary Highway 759, Tomahawk, Alberta, commencing on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at the hour of 9:00 a.m. The Board received a request from interested parties to reschedule the hearing and it agreed to grant the request.
Therefore, Take Notice that the ERCB will hold a public hearing of Application No. 1520574, 1521626, and 1521704 and Proceeding No. 1577611 at the Tomahawk & District AgriCentre, 51122 Secondary Highway 759, Tomahawk, Alberta, commencing on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at the hour of 9:00 a.m. All interveners to this proceeding must be present at the commencement of the hearing to register their appearance.
Nature of the Hearing
A Notice of Hearing was issued on May 5, 2008, for the hearing of three well licence applications by Highpine Oil & Gas Limited. The Amended Notice of Hearing, to give notice that it will consider Proceeding No. 1577611 at the same hearing as Highpine’s three well licence applications, was issued on July 21, 2008. The Board hereby issues this Notice of Rescheduling of Hearing to give notice that the Hearing dates scheduled for September 16, 2008 have been rescheduled to September 23, 2008.
The details of the proceeding and applications are provided below.
Nature of Proceeding No. 1577611
On December 21, 2007, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) approved Application No. 1525497 and issued Well Licence No. 0389651 to Highpine Energy Ltd. in accordance with Section 2.020 of the Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations (OGCR). The licence is for the drilling of a single well to obtain crude oil from the Nisku Formation from a surface location at Legal Subdivision (LSD) 12 of Section 35, Township 50, Range 6, West of the 5th Meridian, to a bottomhole location of LSD 7-2-51-6W5M. The maximum hydrogen sulphide (H2S) concentration expected to be encountered in the drilling of the proposed well would be 160 moles per kilomole (mol/kmol) (16.0 per cent). The well would have an emergency planning zone (EPZ) of 3.04 kilometres (km) during drilling and completion and an EPZ of 0.98 km during production.The well would be located about 3.6 km southwest of the Hamlet of Tomahawk.
The ERCB received letters from several potentially affected parties requesting that the Board conduct a review hearing relating to Well Licence No. 0389651, pursuant to Sections 39 and 40 of the Energy Resources Conservation Act (ERCA). On June 24, 2008, the ERCB granted the request for a review hearing under Section 39 of the ERCA when one party was determined as having standing and registered the hearing as Proceeding No. 1577611. The purpose of the proceeding is to determine whether the Board should confirm, vary, or rescind its decision to grant Well Licence No. 0389651.
As the Board had previously scheduled a hearing to consider three of Highpine’s well licence applications in the same area as the well licence to be reviewed, it will consider the review request at the same hearing.
Nature of the Applications
Applications No. 1520574 and 1521704
Highpine Oil and Gas Limited has applied, pursuant to Section 2.020 of the OGCR, for two critical wells to be drilled from surface locations in LSD 1-16-51-6W5M and LSD 7-17-51-6W5M, respectively. The purpose of the proposed wells would be to produce crude oil from the Nisku Formation. The maximum H2S concentration expected to be encountered in the drilling of the proposed wells would be 160 mol/kmol (16.0 per cent). The maximum cumulative H2S release rate for the drilling and completion/servicing cases would be 2.5 cubic metres per second (m3/s), with a corresponding EPZ of 4.29 km for each well. The maximum cumulative H2S release rate for the suspended/producing case would be 0.51 m3/s, with a corresponding EPZ of 1.46 km for each well.
Application No. 1521626
Highpine Oil and Gas Limited has applied, pursuant to Section 2.020 of the OGCR, for one critical well to be drilled from a surface location in LSD 8-25-51-6W5M. The purpose of the proposed well would be to produce crude oil from the Nisku Formation. The maximum H2S concentration expected to be encountered in the drilling of the proposed well would be 160 mol/kmol (16.0 per cent). The maximum cumulative H2S release rate for the drilling and completion/servicing cases would be 1.51 m3/s, with a corresponding EPZ of 3.04 km. The maximum cumulative H2S release rate for the suspended/producing case would be 0.29 m3/s, with a corresponding EPZ of 0.98 km.
The proposed wells would be located about 3.2 and 5.2 km southwest and 3.3 km northeast of the Hamlet of Tomahawk respectively.
Additional Information
To obtain a copy of the application, contact
Highpine Energy Ltd.
Suite 4000, 150 - 6 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3Y7
Attention: Christien Venardos
Email: cvenardos@highpineog.com
Telephone: 403-265-3333
Fax: 403-508-9599
A copy of the record of this application is available for viewing at,
ERCB Information Services
Main Floor, 640 - 5 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3G4
Telephone: 403-297-8311 (option 2) ERCB Drayton Valley Field Centre
5005 - 61 Street
Drayton Valley, Alberta T7A 1S3
Telephone: 780-542-5182
For information about ERCB procedures, contact
Applications Branch, Facilities Applications Group
Attention: Rachelle Reid
Telephone: 403-355-4305
Fax: 403-297-4117
E-mail: rachelle.reid@ercb.ca
To File a Submission
Intervener Submissions
Any person intending to make a submission with respect to the hearing of Applications No. 1520574, 1521626 and 1521704 and Proceeding No. 1577611 must file on or before 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 3, 2008.
Furthermore, the Board has directed that subsequent submissions which address the reports submitted by Highpine entitled “Assessment of Potential Human Health Impacts Associated with Hypothetical Accidental Sour Oil Release Scenarios During Production Operations”, “Tomahawk Area Health Assessment Modeling For Wells & Associated Pipelines” and “Pipeline Integrity and Management System – Pipeline Manual”, may be filed on or before 9:00 a.m., Monday, September 15, 2008.
Highpine Reply Submission
Any response from Highpine to initial intervener submissions must be filed on or before 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 10, 2008.
Any response to intervener’s submissions resulting from the above named reports must be filed on or before 4:00 pm., Wednesday, September 17, 2008.
When making a submission, send one copy of your submission to the applicant at the name and address above and ten copies to
Rachelle Reid, Applications Coordinator
Applications Branch, Facilities Applications Group
Energy Resources Conservation Board
640 - 5 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3G4
Notes
Any submission filed shall contain the following:
(a) a concise statement indicating
(i) the manner in which the intervener’s rights may be directly and adversely affected by a decision of the Board on the proceeding,
(ii) the nature and scope of the intervener’s intended participation,
(iii) the disposition of the proceeding that the intervener advocates, if any,
(iv) the facts the intervener proposes to show in evidence,
(v) the reasons why the intervener believes the Board should decide in the manner that the intervener advocates, and
(vi) the intervener’s efforts, if any, to resolve issues associated with the proceeding directly with the applicant;
(b) the name, address in Alberta, telephone number, fax number and, if available, e-mail address of the intervener;
(c) if the intervener is represented by a representative, the name, address in Alberta, telephone number, fax number and, if available, e-mail address of the representative;
(d) if the intervener is an unincorporated organization, the nature of the intervener’s membership.
If you have an interest in this matter, you are required to make a submission with respect to this application even if you have previously filed a submission with the Board or with Highpine Oil and Gas Limited on this application.
If there are no submissions received, this hearing may be cancelled and the ERCB will continue to process the application without further notice or without a hearing.
Submissions relating exclusively to compensation for land usage are not dealt with by the ERCB but may be referred to the Alberta Surface Rights Board.
In accordance with Section 13 of the Energy Resources Conservation Board Rules of Practice, all documents filed in respect of this proceeding must be placed on the public record. However, any party may make an application to the Board for confidentiality pursuant to Section 13(2) and serve a copy of such request on the other parties involved in the hearing. The Board may grant a request for confidentiality on any terms it considers appropriate, subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
In accordance with Section 25 of the Energy Resources Conservation Board Rules of Practice, a person who intends to raise a question of constitutional law before the Board must give notice in accordance with Section 12 of the Administrative Procedures and Jurisdiction Act and its regulation.
In accordance with Section 40 of the Energy Resources Conservation Board Rules of Practice, witnesses must give evidence under oath or affirmation.
Issued at Calgary, Alberta on September 3, 2008.
ENERGY RESOURCES CONSERVATION BOARD
Patricia M. Johnston, Q.C., General Counsel
