Cabot Martin knows what he is talking about. His speech to the St. John’s Rotary Club on Thursday opened a great many eyes to the potential for natural gas as a means to produce electricity locally. By extension, martin also got at a key aspect of why the Muskrat Falls proposal is just wrong.
For an account of the speech check the Telegram.
“Nalcor has not conducted due diligence in its examination of this option, the White Rose option,” he said. “They can wave their options all they want, but they can’t produce one single study by a competent engineering firm to focus on this option. And White Rose gas happens to be probably the most viable long-term energy resource that we have in this province.”
For more on Martin’s background material, check his website; muskratinfo.ca.
Meanwhile, in the same Telegram article, Paul Barnes of the petroleum producers association says that the natural gas is being used to help produce oil.
That’s true, but as Barnes knows, the White Rose operators are looking to get rid of some of their gas. They don’t need all the gas for oil production. He also knows that the province can take the gas today and compensate the operators for it, regardless of the price. Or the province can take it as part of their royalty.
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