Fracking moratorium could force company out of N.B., says CEO
Hundreds of jobs at stake near Sussex, government says mine has other options
A fracking moratorium in New Brunswick could affect hundreds of jobs by forcing Corridor Resources to leave the province, according to the natural gas and petroleum company.
President and CEO Steve Moran says Corridor Resources is still gauging the impact of the moratorium, but says if it lasts for a long period of time, the company may have to relocate outside of the province.
"We'll have to move our capital and our expenditures elsewhere. We really don't want to, but we'll have no choice," Moran said.
Corridor Resources has been fracking near Sussex for a decade. The company co-owns a pipeline with PotashCorp that carries fracked gas to the new potash mine in Penobsquis, where about 450 people work.
The moratorium will prevent Corridor Resources from fracking for more gas to continue supplying the mine, according to Moran.
Premier Brian Gallant introduced the moratorium on Thursday, explicitly outlining five conditions that must be satisfied before the moratorium is lifted.
The moratorium will not be 'grandfathered' for companies with projects already underway.
"It'll be up to them to see if there's other ways to be able to continue their operations without the process of hydraulic fracturing," Gallant said.
Energy Minister Donald Arseneault says the mine has other options.
"PotashCorp has other means as well to access gas as they're connected to the Maritimes Northeast pipeline, " Arsenault said.
The Maritimes and Northeast pipeline connects natural gas from developments from offshore Nova Scotia to markets in Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States.
Arseneault also says Corridor Resources has several active wells that don't need to be fracked in order to supply the PotashCorp mine.