Oil company awaits drilling OK for West Lake Ainslie
PetroWorth Resources granted environmental approval last month
CBC News
Posted: Aug 19, 2011 2:22 PM AT
Last Updated: Aug 19, 2011 2:22 PM AT
Related
Related Links
An oil and gas company is waiting to clear another regulatory hurdle so it can drill an exploration well in West Lake Ainslie, Nova Scotia.
PetroWorth Resources Inc. was granted environmental approval last month, but it still needs approval to drill from the Nova Scotia Department of Energy.
A spokesperson for the department said Friday the company's application is still under review.
Toronto-based PetroWorth wants to drill a 1,200-metre vertical test well for oil near West Lake Ainslie in Cape Breton.
Some people who live in the area are worried the company plans to carry out hydraulic fracturing — known as fracking — a process where water, sand and chemicals are pumped into the ground, creating cracks in shale rock formations.
Karen White, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environment, said the approval granted July 29 only covers a conventional test well.
She said the company will have to develop a plan to deal with wastewater, sound restrictions and air quality levels.
"They're required to demonstrate that they do have measures in place to protect drinking water and the environment," she told CBC News on Friday.
PetroWorth's initial application is for a conventional well, but the company has not ruled out fracking.
Share Tools
Latest Nova Scotia News Headlines
- Runner dies after collapsing in Cape Breton race
- A man died after collapsing during the Cabot Trail Relay Race on Sunday morning. more »
- HMCS Ojibwa leaves Halifax for Ontario museum
- HMCS Ojibwa left Halifax on the weekend to begin its new life as a museum in landlocked Ontario community. more »
- Six Cape Breton Catholic churches closing
- Several Cape Breton Roman Catholic church buildings will close and be replaced with one parish, Sydney churchgoers learned Sunday. more »
- Third Halifax shooting may be random: police
- A man was shot in Halifax Saturday night in what police say appears to have been a random act. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria, B.C., native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- Remains found in bag on Cape Breton river ID'd
- Runner dies after collapsing in Cape Breton race
- HMCS Ojibwa leaves Halifax for Ontario museum
- Woman's remains found in hockey bag on Cape Breton river
- Six Cape Breton Catholic churches closing
- Third Halifax shooting may be random: police
- Halifax police name homicide victim
- Driver dies in Eastern Passage crash
- Halifax homicide linked to drugs
