Ready for spill, N.L. oil industry says

As the oil-spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico grows, so do questions about Canada's readiness if a similar disaster were to occur in Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil industry.

Three oil fields are now in production hundreds of kilometres east of the province, and exploration is underway for other finds.

Oil companies operating off Canada's east coast say they are focused on prevention and are working to ensure an environmental disaster won't happen east of Newfoundland.

"We have comprehensive plans in place," said Chevron Canada's Mark MacLeod. "We've done drills. We have emergency response plans. We have an oil spill response plan. We're very prepared and very confident."

A Memorial University of Newfoundland biologist who advises governments on oil spill response doesn't accept that, however.

Ian Jones accuses Canada's watchdog agencies and oil companies of failing to prepare for a spill.

"Does Chevron Canada think it's protected by God from these events? Because that's the level of plausibility to what he's saying," said Jones.

Already, there have been two significant oil spills off Newfoundland's coast.

In 2004, about 160,000 litres of oil spilled from the Terra Nova oil platform, 350 kilometres southeast of the province.

Jones said oil companies and government agencies were slow to respond, and they weren't forthright about the impact on wildlife.

He told CBC News that since 2004 nothing has changed. Jones said a recommendation to put independent monitors on oil rigs still hasn't been implemented.

In 2008, there was another spill, at the White Rose oil field. Jones says the oil companies and federal authorities still won't release details of the environmental impact of that one.

Working with industry

"There's a history in Newfoundland of a massive coverup, as well as these misleading statements — with the approval, presumably, of the politicians — that tend to deny, delay or obfuscate attempts to find out what's going on," said Jones. 

A Canadian Coast Guard official said the oil companies are responsible for cleaning up their own spills in Canada, but the Coast Guard does co-operate with the companies to prepare for the worst.

"We do work with the industry in exercises to ensure that we work flawlessly together and that we maintain a professional relationship with the response organizations," said the Canadian Coast Guard's Roger MacDonald.