Horn River Conference in Fort Nelson Hailed a Success

The Horn River Basin Symposium has wrapped up in the community of Fort Nelson.

First Nations chiefs and elders, gas industry leaders, environmentalists and representatives from the province gathered in Fort Nelson Wednesday and Thursday to discuss how to extract the area's shale gas with the least possible impact on the environment. North America's largest reserve of "unconventional gas" is found in the Horn River Basin.

Minister of Energy and Mines Richard Neufeld spoke at the symposium about Fort Nelson's potential to grow as a community as a direct result of the Horn River Basin. "Fort Nelson has the potential to grow, not just for the Horn River Basin, [but to become] the service centre [to the] Northwest Territories.

Fort Nelson Mayor Chris Morey spoke about the sucess of the conference. "All the players who needed to be at the table are here. We heard the expertise of industry regarding what the shale gas is all about, the size of it and the potential of it. "

Other speakers at the symposium included Vic Levson, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, First Nations Chief Kathi Dickie, as well as leaders of most of the gas development companies in the area.

Morey says there will likely be another conference as early as a year from now, to further the discussion on how to remove the shale gas without leaving too big of an enviromental footprint.