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Municipalities say poor roads hurting Manitoba oil industy

By: Charles Tweed

Posted: 08/9/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Tim Smith / Brandon Sun A pumpjack churns relentlessly west of Virden. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)

BRANDON -- The premier says the province is willing to work with private industry to improve crumbling infrastructure servicing the energy industry in southwestern Manitoba.

"We're aware of some of the challenges around the roads,"àPremier Greg Sellinger said Wednesday during a stop in Brandon.

"There is a record amount of drilling and activity down there right now, but of course if the industry has some concerns, (we'll) sit down and work with them to see if (we) can solve the problem rather than writing a blank cheque,"àSelinger said.

A high water table this spring coupled with trucks carrying heavy loads has created a perfect storm of destruction. That, on top of the blow nature dealt infrastructure in the area in spring, 2011.

"Some of (the challenges)àare related to the flood from last year and some washouts of a bridge,"àSelinger said.The bridge in question is the Coulter bridge on Provincial Road 251.

Last month, the Oil Producing Municipalities of Manitoba (OPMM), an association of 16 municipalities at the epicentre of oil and gas exploration in the province, met with Energy, Industry and Mines Minister Dave Chomiak to voice concerns about areas of the province's short- and long-term plans regarding the oil and gas industry.

The group put forward an official position paper outlining concerns regarding permitting delays, tax re-assessments for horizontal wells and strategies for municipal infrastructure funding.

As of July 31, 16 of 26 rigs were working in Manitoba according to the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors. While there are many factors that weigh into why some rigs are working while others are shut down, Tycoles believes the state of the roads is playing a factor.

"There is less activity than there was and a lot of them are waiting until later because of the spring road conditions,"àTycoles said. "We've heard that some rigs have withdrawn for a number of reasons and one of them is the ability to get around."

According to a government spokesman, the province has six road projects due for completion this year, including paving a 12 kilometre stretch of Highway 2 between Sinclair and Reston and replacing the structure at Jackson Creek west of Sinclair.

-- Brandon Sun

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 9, 2012 A4

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