ABSTRACT

The Golden Spike Field, nine miles (15 km) west of Edmonton, Alberta, is primarily known for Imperial Oil Limited's 1949 discovery of the Golden Spike South D3 Pool. There are, however, significant gas reserves in the Mannville Group, specifically the Glauconite and Ellerslie formations. The Ellerslie Formation contains small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), which range in concentration from a few ppm to one quarter of one per cent.

Hewitt Oil (Alberta) Ltd. drilled the discovery wells in the Mannville A, B, and C Pools (1968-1971). The small quantities of H₂S in the gas stream were removed by Imperial's Golden Spike Gas Plant until September, 1984. At that time, Imperial elected to de-commission its sour gas facility and consequently the Hewitt gas stream was shut-in.

In 1985, Hewitt proposed the construction of a sour gas plant in order to resume gas sales. The Hewitt proposal included the use of a 100 per cent sulphur recovery technology called LO-CAT^TM. The volume of sulphur in the Hewitt gas, being insufficient to justify recovery for economic reasons, was recovered instead for environmental reasons. Hewitt assumed that this technology would relieve the community concerns regarding its project. Instead, the community reacted to the Hewitt proposal with violent opposition.

The presentation, through a slide program, illustrates the interaction between Hewitt, the community, and various government bodies that resulted in a landmark example of cooperation between the community and a resource company. The presentation illustrates Hewitt's initial public relations mistakes and how, over a two-year period, these mistakes were overcome and the conflict was resolved.

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