Minimizing Land Disturbances
Our activities – whether it’s drilling wells or building large oil sands projects – disturb the land. We work to minimize that impact in a number of ways:
- Prior to development, Nexen conducts environmental assessments, engages local stakeholders and identifies sensitive ecosystems so we can determine how best to mitigate impacts when developing our oil and gas projects.
- In our conventional oil and shale gas operations, we use narrow seismic lines, directional drilling and reuse old seismic lines when possible to avoid unnecessary land disturbance.
- We share infrastructure, including access roads and pipelines, with other developers. For example, in northeastern British Columbia, Nexen and other industry operators share the use of the 100-kilometre Komie Road (owned by another energy developer) to access our wellsites and other assets. Pipelines carrying production from multiple producers will be built alongside the Komie Road to localize industry's footprint as much as possible. In addition, public access to the road is restricted to ensure wildlife in the region is not exposed to additional hunting pressure.
Reclaim Disturbed Land
In most jurisdictions, land must be reclaimed to an ‘equivalent’ capability that existed before oil and gas operations began. This may mean beginning reclamation years, or even decades, after energy production begins or at a very early stage in the lifecycle of our operations.
For example, at our Long Lake oil sands facility, portions of our lease are undergoing reclamation, even though the facility will be in operation for decades to come. Reclamation efforts include the planting of 32,000 seedlings at Long Lake in 2010 with plans to plant an additional 75,000 in 2011 to mitigate areas disturbed by seismic and core hole exploration.
Faster Forests
We’re supporting the Faster Forests initiative through our involvement with the Oil Sands Leadership Initiative (OSLI). Through this program, approximately 600,000 trees have been planted in the oil sands region since 2009. OSLI is slated to become part of Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), a collaborative network with a mandate to accelerate the pace of improving environmental performance in the oil sands industry.
The Faster Forests initiative is also introducing more diversity to the forest floor. Standard reforestation efforts typically focus on replanting a small number of tree species that may not replicate the local mix of natural vegetation. Nexen and other Faster Forests’ partners are planting spruce, birch and aspen seedlings, native shrubs and even wildflowers – to more accurately mimic the natural biodiversity of the boreal forest and speed up the reforestation process.