Offshore Oil and Gas in Canada: West Coast Environmental, Social and Economic Issues

Peter Victor was Associate Professor with the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Downsview, Ontario.

Michael McPhee is a researcher at the Westwater Research Centre, which was established in 1971 at the University of British Columbia to conduct interdisciplinary research on the management of water and associated resources. McPhee’s treatment of the environmental, social, and economic issues related to offshore oil and gas developments on Canada’s west coast demonstrates the effectiveness of this research effort.

Preliminary oil and gas exploration efforts were made off Canada’s west coast in the 1960s. The governments of British Columbia and Canada imposed a moratorium on this activity primarily because of the uncertain effects that offshore drilling might have. McPhee’s study aims at the identification of the major environmental, social, and economic issues that should be addressed in deciding whether offshore petroleum activity should proceed.

His approach distinguishes among the various phases, from exploration through development to production, and finally to shut-in of facilities. Each phase has its own impacts, though McPhee stresses that the larger decisions should reflect an appreciation that each phase is part of an integrated process.

In fewer than 80 pages, it is to the author’s credit that he effectively presents a non-technical account of a wide range of important environmental, social, and economic issues. His treatment is factual and well referenced. However, he does not go into depth as to how the impacts should be predicted or how they should be evaluated. The problem of comparing the potential costs and benefits of offshore development is well beyond the scope of the book.

Overall, the book offers a systematic and readable treatment of some potentially serious impacts that will have to be considered when, as it surely must, the search for new Canadian sources of hydrocarbons seeks new frontiers.