News

The three recent explosions at sour gas facilities near Dawson Creek in northeastern British Columbia provoked some explosive language from the provincial Energy Minister yesterday.

"Only a crazy person can think that by going out there and blowing something up they are getting their message across," Richard Neufeld told reporters in Victoria.

"Only someone that's deranged does that kind of thing. Because they put everybody's lives at risk ... it's crazy and it's stupid and they shouldn't do it. We need to catch them."

The RCMP's anti-terrorist team is investigating the

three attacks, all of which occurred near Dawson Creek

in October and targeted EnCana operations.

No one has been hurt, but area residents are worried about possible exposure to hydrogen sulphide, a toxic compound present in sour gas that can be lethal at higher concentrations. Employee safety is also a concern.

Police have appealed for public assistance and said whoever is responsible for the attacks appears to have extensive local knowledge and could be someone from the area.

RCMP last month said Wiebo Ludwig, an Alberta rancher who spent nearly two years in jail in connection with attacks against Alberta gas facilities in the 1990s, was not a suspect.

EnCana and other companies with operations in northeastern B.C. have stepped up security as a result of the attacks, which have cast a spotlight on a fast-growing industry that has become a mainstay of government revenues.

During the 1990s, the province took in an average of $465-million a year from the industry; now, it pumps about $2-billion a year into provincial accounts.

The Liberal government has courted expansion of the industry with royalty credits to encourage new roads and year-round drilling.

The growing number of wells and pipelines has resulted in tension between industry and landowners. The province agreed last year to review setback regulations as part of its energy plan. Current regulations allow sour gas wells to be as close as 80 metres to homes.

That may be the backdrop to the attacks, but the emphasis should be on the investigation, Mr. Neufeld said.

"We just have to catch the nutcase that's out there thinking they are making a statement by doing these kind of things. That's what we have to do," he said.

"We have some different opinions in the northeast, but generally speaking ... this doesn't help anything. Oil and gas is going to continue to happen."

Along with reviewing setback provisions, the province in its energy plan committed to eliminate routine flaring from oil and gas sites by 2016, with an interim goal of cutting emissions by 50 per cent by 2011.

With a report from Justine Hunter in Victoria