Sacred Headwaters - Klappan Coalbed Methane Project

Klappan Coalbed Methane Project

The Klappan Coalbed Methane Project is a proposal by Shell Canada to develop a coalbed methane methane project in the area known as the Sacred Headwaters. In 2004, the British Columbia government granted Royal Dutch Shell (which is now a parent company of Shell Canada) a 400,000 hectare (4,000 km2) tenure for coalbed methane development. It is accessed by road via the abandoned BC Rail grade, which intersects British Columbia Highway 37 south of Iskut. As of Summer 2008, Shell's project is in the exploration phase. Shell drilled three exploratory wells in 2004 and is preparing to drill an additional 14 wells in 2008, 8 of which are proposed for the headwaters of the Skeena River. If developed, Shell's project will entail a network of gas wells connected by roads and pipelines, as well as a pipeline to deliver the gas to market. Shell has disclosed neither how many wells will be necessary to make the project economically viable nor route options for the delivery pipeline. The Klappan Coalbed Methane Project has been met with opposition by both First Nations groups and Non-governmental organizations. The Pembina Institute, an environmentalist think-tank, released a report on the potential impacts of the Klappan Coalbed Methane Project on wild salmon, calling it a "risky experiment" as commercial coalbed methane production has never been attempted in a salmon-bearing watershed. On December 18, 2012, the B.C. government announced that Shell Canada would relinquish its tenure on the land, and that oil and gas development would be banned in the Sacred Headwaters.