Jane and Cameron Kerr are watching the testing taking place on their farm south of Weyburn. Behind them is the gravel pit that started the investigation.

 

 

Investigation continues into the alleged CO2 leak at a farm south of Weyburn.

IPAC CO2, the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geological Storage of CO2 headquartered in Regina, is at the farm of Cameron and Jane Kerr to test gas, soil, water and sediment samples.

The not-for-profit organization has assembled a team of researchers to investigate whether CO2 from Cenovus Energy's nearby Carbon Capture and Storage project is leaking into the Kerr's water and soil.

IPAC drilled a series of holes this week in order to get soil samples, some as deep as 19 feet. Researchers from the university's of Regina, Texas, and Edinburgh, Scotland are gathering samples for testing.

Carmen Dybwad, CEO of IPAC CO2, says that the research being done at the farm near Goodwater will help to set standards for other Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) sites.

 

 

Carmen Dybad and Dr. Janis Dale discuss the water well tests at the Kerr farm.


"This (technology) is unique anywhere in the world," says Dybwad. "This is really important for Saskatchewan and the development of the whole CCS community."

"This is going to be the protocol that, as this technique gets adopted, you know there are going to be other allegations."

Dr. Katherine Romanuk, research associate at The University of Texas (U of T) at Austin, is testing for gases underground using 10 sites that IPAC drilled recently. These tests will determine the amount of CO2 in the ground and whether it is naturally occuring or not.

 


Dr. Katherine Romanuk testing soil samples.


"CO2 can be as high as 21 percent here. Naturally it can be quite high," says Romanuk. "The concentration isn't going to scare us, we're looking at the process."

Dr. Brad Wolaver, research associate at the U of T, along with Dr. Janis Dale, U of R Department of Geology, are testing water samples from both the Kerr farm and a neighbouring farm. While Wolaver is running a chemical analysis of the domestic water supplies, Dale is testing the sediment for the presence of hyrocarbons.

 


 Domestic well on Kerr farm being tested.

 

Although the investigation is taking place on the Kerr farm, Dybwad says that niether the Kerr's nor Cenovus have any say in the this third party analysis.

Allegations about the leak of CO2 began in 2005 when the Kerr's alerted Cenovus and the provincial government that they had noticed strange anomalies on their land since opening a gravel pit in 2003. They claim that animals have died after drinking from their sloughs and strange algae has formed on their water.

"In the fall of 2005 we noticed gaseous explosive events," says Jane Kerr. The Kerr's decided then to move off their farm and now live in Regina.

The Kerr's hired Paul Lefleur of Petro-Find Geochem to test for CO2 on their property. Kerr says he found an open fault fracture.

"He found a large anomally of escaping CO2 over on the northwest corner of our property," says Kerr.

Kerr admits that none of their neighbours have reported similar findings but says that they too were unaware of any problems until they dug their gravel pit.

"Our hopes for all of this is to create some kind of regulations for the oil and gas industry because currently there isn't any (for this situation)," says Kerr. "We don't want anybody else to encounter what we have."

She says their main goal is to put protocol in place for this type of situation.

 

IPAC expects to have results from their investigation in December. 

 

 Property Owner Jane Kerr: