RE: On National news this evening...I listened to the program on the St-Lawrence Lowlands – it was short and to the point.
Summary and personal view
Basically the emphasis was on the economic potential of this very large area. It is seen as an economic “energy” powerhouse for Quebec that will equate that of the Athabasca Tar Sands. This, for Quebec, is very positive especially in the light that Americans consider the Alberta Tar Sands as an important source of pollution (labelled as dirty oil). Another benefit is the proximity of the Trans Canada Pipeline to supply routes for the New England States and beyond.
Three companies were named in the report: Gastem (GMR-TSX.V), Forest Oil (FST-NYSE), and Talisman Energy (TLM-TSX) also highlighting the relationship between GMR and FST,
They touched on the vertical drilling done thus far but spoke more on the upcoming horizontal fragmentation (a first for Quebec) underscoring that the technology may require some tweaking. Horizontal fragmentation is a process of drilling using water and sand to fragment rocks. It is anticipated that, if all goes according to plan, production of gas could be up and running by 2010.
Basically those interviewed were really upbeat on the prospect of the economic benefits of gas production in the St-Lawrence Lowlands although natural gas prices have dropped from the $13 high of late 2008 to the current $4 level.
Of course, environmentalists are keeping a close eye on the region (St-Lawrence Lowlands) but I do not believe they will lodge objections – they just want to make sure that the “environment” is taken into consideration in the development of gas wells.
Tomorrow and the day after will tell the tale as to whether or not anyone was listening and understood the potential of the gas fields in the St-Lawrence Lowlands – may not pop back to the $0.40s but hope it will at least stop the haemorrhaging.
Google “natural gas Quebec lowlands” for more information including other companies exploring the same area (…Brownstone Ventures (BWN-TSX.V), X-Terra Resources Corp. (XT-TSX.V)
Other resources:
Investors Pile Into Quebec Shale Gas Plays
https://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=43978
Energy – gas and oil
https://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=76&st=Energy
Canadian Gas Association
https://www.cga.ca/publications/gasstats.htm