From the Thursday, February 28, 2008 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
Canadian politicians and industry remain keenly interested in coal-bed methane reserves north of Glacier National Park, despite an announcement last week that such plans were off the table.
“We are still very interested in the potential of the Canadian Flathead,” said Jessica Whiteside, spokesperson for BP Canada. Her company already has begun collecting environmental data there, in anticipation of energy development, “and we do plan to continue those environmental studies.”
The reason BP Canada continues investing in the Flathead, even after British Columbia's government pulled that drainage out of a broader project, is because the company “will ask for coal-bed methane rights in the Flathead” sometime in the future.
So said Bill Bennett, a provincial lawmaker whose home district covers the area adjacent to the Montana line and immediately north of Glacier Park. “The company will conduct ongoing studies in the Flathead at their own expense,” he said, with the expectation that opening the area to exploration remains a distinct possibility.
That runs directly counter to an announcement made last week by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. After speaking with Bob Malone, head of BP's North American operations, Baucus reported the company's decision to abandon coal-bed gas exploration in the Flathead was a “final decision.”
Now, it appears not final at all, and the company's plans may not even be affected much by the recent decision.
And Baucus is not happy.
Read the entire article . . .