CALGARY, Sept. 4, 2014 /CNW/ – The National Energy Board (NEB or the Board) has released the revised List of Issues that will be important to examine in detail during the review of the Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited (IORVL) and Chevron Canada Limited (Chevron) proposals related to the Same Season Relief Well (SSRW) Policy.
On July 11, 2014, the NEB announced it would review separate proposals from IORVL and Chevron to determine if the proposals will meet the intended outcome of the NEB’s SSRW Policy.
In the 2011 Review of Offshore Drilling in the Canadian Arctic, the Board re-affirmed its SSRW Policy. The intended outcome of the SSRW Policy is to minimize harmful impacts on the environment. An applicant wishing to depart from the NEB’s SSRW Policy must demonstrate how they would meet or exceed the intended outcome of the policy.
The Board invited comments from the public on the List of Issues to be examined in the proceedings. The Board identifies a List of Issues in advance of a public process so that the applicant and potential participants know the general topics that will be examined. The Board accommodated an extension request by lengthening the comment period from three to five weeks, and received comments from a variety of organizations and interested persons.
The Board determined that the draft List of Issues was broad enough to capture most of the comments about what should be included. However, the Board did add the following topic to the List of Issues for both proposals: “How the tools and techniques proposed would address the challenges of the unique Arctic environment.” For clarity, the Board also set out its expectations regarding the information that should be filed by IORVL and Chevron in their technical proposals to address the topics in the revised List of Issues.
The List of Issues and the decisions explaining how comments were considered can be found on the NEB’s website project pages at www.neb-one.gc.ca/IORVLReview and www.neb-one.gc.ca/ChevronReview.
The Board has not yet determined the processes it will use for the SSRW technical proceedings. Future updates and announcements may be found on the NEB’s website project pages.
The National Energy Board is an independent federal regulator of several parts of Canada’s energy industry with the safety of Canadians and protection of the environment as its top priority. Its purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest.
This news release is available on the NEB’s website at www.neb-one.gc.ca under What’s New!
SOURCE National Energy Board
For further information: Katherine Murphy, KatherineL.Murphy@neb-one.gc.ca, Communications Officer, Telephone: 1-800-899-1265 | Tara O’Donovan, Tara.ODonovan@neb-one.gc.ca, Communications Officer, Telephone: 1-800-899-1265