Dear Corridor Resources - dont take it personally, but, we dont want you fracking our land! Corridors Response Corridor Response to New Brunswick Moratorium 2:52 PM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) Dec 18, 2014 Corridor Response to New Brunswick Moratorium HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - Dec 18, 2014) - Corridor Resources Inc. (Corridor or the Company) (TSX:CDH) responded today to the introduction of a moratorium on shale gas development in New Brunswick. We have always maintained that a moratorium is not necessary for an industry that has operated responsibly and safely in this province, said Steve Moran, President and CEO of Corridor Resources. We do not believe it is necessary and do not support it. We expect that the Government of New Brunswick should want to fully understand the potential rewards of allowing the industry to proceed, while ensuring the risks are manageable and acceptable. We strongly recommend that they expeditiously investigate the merits of the industry, for the sake of our shareholders and the people and industry of New Brunswick. Mr. Moran said the five conditions outlined today by the Government of New Brunswick, for lifting the temporary moratorium, are simply not clear enough. They do not provide a predictable path forward. In addition, New Brunswick already has clear and robust regulations in place under which the industry operates safely. Since the Company was formed in 1995, Corridor and its partners have spent over half a billion dollars of risk capital in New Brunswick exploring for oil and natural gas. Corridor has drilled 46 wells in the Penobsquis and Elgin areas and completed 120 hydraulic fracture stimulations. In that time period, Corridor and its partners have paid over $19.0 million in royalties to the Government of New Brunswick and another $5.0 million to local landowners and municipalities. Corridor proudly stands behind its Health and Safety track record and good standing in the Penobsquis and Elgin areas. Corridor has invested heavily in the Province of New Brunswick and has earned the right to recover a return on that investment. The vast majority of the wells drilled by Corridor and its partners were fracture stimulated using water as the stimulation fluid. Recently, liquefied propane has been used. Regardless of the fluid type, both are considered hydraulic fracture stimulations. All of these operations have been performed to the highest industry standards and without incident. The nature of the geology in New Brunswick is such that the two formations currently producing natural gas, the Hiram Brook sand and Frederick Brook shale, cannot flow unless fracture stimulated. If we are not permitted to fracture stimulate the wells, we cannot produce natural gas. This is not uncommon. The vast majority of all wells being drilled in North America are fracture stimulated. Over 175,000 wells in Canada have been fracture stimulated to date. The Frederick Brook shale holds significant resource and economic potential for the people of New Brunswick and Corridors shareholders. Corridor has successfully tested natural gas from six different sub-intervals in the Frederick Brook shale across 25 kilometers. Four wells are now producing natural gas from the Frederick Book. The thickness (up to 1,100 metres) of the Frederick Brook shale and lateral extent (up to 483 square kilometers) combined make it a world class resource and opportunity. The independent engineering firm of GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. (GLJ) provided a best estimate of gross discovered unrecoverable resources on Corridors lands of 67.3 trillion cubic feet (TCF) (59.1 TCF net to Corridor) in the Frederick Brook shale as reviewed on March 25, 2014. A summary of this estimate is set forth in Corridors Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2013, a copy of which is available under Corridors profile at sedar. Corridor has successfully tested and currently produces gas from the Frederick Brook shale. Ultimately, Corridor needs to demonstrate that drilling and producing natural gas from the shale is commercially viable. The technical understanding of recovering the Frederick Brook resource is still at a relatively early stage. The natural gas will not be considered recoverable until we gain more knowledge. The fracture stimulation technology of accessing and producing shale gas reserves has been advancing rapidly in recent years. Typically, it is common to produce 20% to 30% of the resource. In our case, that could be up to 13.4 to 20.1 TCF. To give a sense of perspective, the entire country of Canada consumes approximately 3.0 TCF per year. Much has been said about the potential economic benefits of an expanding natural gas industry to the people of New Brunswick. While Corridor believes the benefits could be substantial, it is only by allowing Corridor and industry to continue its work assessing the resource, that those benefits can be quantified. This work will take significant investment capital, likely hundreds of millions of dollars. The only certainty is that nobody will ever know the economic potential, should hydraulic fracturing no longer be permitted. To not allow the work to continue, would amount to a refusal by the Government of New Brunswick to ask the question of what the reward of pursuing this resource might be. We would consider that a wasted opportunity for the people of New Brunswick, added Mr. Moran. Corridor understands the New Brunswick Government may feel there already is a de facto moratorium in place because of the stringent rules to source and manage the water needed to drill for and produce natural gas. We also understand that many New Brunswickers have anxiety about the impact on water resources due to increased natural gas activity. Corridor believes the people of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia also care passionately about their water, health and safety. We all have a vested interest to ensure that water is sourced, treated and disposed of in a sustainable, safe and responsible manner. The oil and gas industry has thrived in those provinces where hydraulic fracturing has been permitted for over sixty years. Corridor believes those provinces regulatory and environmental framework would serve as excellent role models for developing the industry in New Brunswick. Read more at stockhouse/companies/bullboard/t.cdh/corridor-resources-inc#zjEGYxxsQBJw5LhQ.99
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:28:54 +0000
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