"This report entitled British Columbia Offshore Oil and Gas Technology Update is an update of the 1998 AGRA Earth and Environmental Limited report Review of Offshore Development Technologies prepared for the British Columbia Information, Science and Technology Agency. This update report is a component of the provincial government's review of the offshore oil and gas moratorium and is an extension of the process that includes the 1986 Offshore Hydrocarbon Exploration, a Report and Recommendations of the West Coast Offshore Exploration Environmental Assessment Panel and the 1998 AGRA report. Jacques Whitford Environment Limited has prepared this document as an unbiased update of offshore oil and gas engineering, environmental and socio-economic factors, and state-of-the-art technologies." (p. 173)

"One of the important issues to be addressed by Government in the regulation of oil and gas developments offshore will be the degree to which regulations are prescriptive. The eastern Canadian offshore regulations are heavily prescriptive which can place a significant cost burden on potential offshore activities. With the advances in the technology of offshore investigations, drilling and production, there is significant opportunity to use a results oriented, review and approval process to ensure the highest economic benefit while ensuring that the potential for environmental and safety risks are adequately controlled."

"Satake (2001) reports an analytical study of tsunami in the Pacific Rim triggered by a large landslide in the Hawaiian Islands and estimated that the tsunami height could be 30 m (100 feet) in the western margins of Dixon Entrance and Queen Charlotte Sound. Lynett et al. (2001) also proposed a numerical model for tsunamis. The site-specific tsunami-related design parameters including wave heights and run-up can be estimated for the oil and gas developments in British Columbia offshore lease areas following such procedures. These parameters should then be used in structural design and risk management of offshore oil and gas facilities."

"In summary, the northern waters of British Columbia present a complex physical environment, with highly variable bathymetry, strong winds and currents, and high waves during storm events. The region is also one of high seismic activity, with the associated risk of slope failure and tsunami generation.

Conversely, the significant risk to offshore facilities posed by icebergs on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland is not found on the west coast of Canada."

"The physical conditions under which offshore hydrocarbon exploration, development and production activities occur impact engineering designs, operational procedures and environmental impacts associated with any contaminant releases to the marine environment. Uncertainties in the physical parameters discussed in this section can be dealt with through standard approaches such as increased factors of safety included in engineering designs and operational procedures, while environmental concerns can be reduced through the incorporation of additional spill prevention measures into offshore equipment. The net effect of high uncertainties in the physical conditions under which offshore activities are to occur is to increase the cost of offshore activities and reduce the economic feasibility of a given project, rather than to limit the technical feasibility of offshore exploration." (p. 67)(emphasis added)