Morice Land and Resource Management Plan

Market Demand and Price Trend

Copper is used in a wide range of products. Typically the markets for copper are broken into plumbing heating, automotive, power utilities, air conditioning and refrigeration, and telecommunications. Between 1990 and 2000, North American copper consumption rose by 28 percent going from 3,438 metric tons in 1990 to 4,417 metric tons. In general, world copper consumption has also been on the rise although consumption was down in 2002. Asia is becoming an increasingly important consumer of copper and leading the growth in new demand. For example, in the first half of 2003, world copper demand increased by approximately 1 percent world wide with the main contributor to the recovery in copper usage coming from Asian consumption increase of 11.5 percent (China +23.5 percent and Japan +8.6 percent). During this same period usage in North America declined by 4.8 percent (Canada –17.1 percent, US –5.4 percent).

Conclusion

World demand and growth in copper consumption, particularly in Asia, would suggest that future copper smelting capacity would need to be developed in the future. However, it is unlikely that in a viability assessment that the Morice LRMP area is going to be a strong candidate for this new production capacity. The Morice LRMP will have to demonstrate a clear comparative advantage against locations such as China, Japan, and Chile. Overall, locating a new copper smelter inland within the Morice LRMP area is highly unlikely unless major incentives such as cheap power can be obtained.

Recommendations to the LRMP Table

Given the many hurdles in the way of developing a copper smelter in the Morice area it is not considered viable to pursue. The LRMP need not consider this as an opportunity to account for in its land-use decision–making process.

Development of Oil and Gas

Overview

Key facts about the oil and gas industry in BC are as follows:

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  It has become a key component to the overall provincial revenue stream. In 1996 provincial revenues from the oil and gas sector were $367 million while in 2002 this had risen to $1,370 million.
  
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  It is based in the northeastern region of the province, where there has been petroleum exploration and development since 1952. The northeast accounts for 99 percent of BC production.
  
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  The sector provides more than 14,500 direct and 23,000 indirect jobs.¹⁷
  
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  Almost all production in BC comes from the giant Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. The other resource regions in the province are considered immature, with limited drilling, minimal production and little pipeline infrastructure.
  
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  Current remaining reserves estimates of 2.5 million cubic metres of oil and 22.6 billion cubic metres of natural gas. The undiscovered resource potential of natural gas and coalbed methane (currently being estimated by the Ministry of Energy and Mines) is in the order of trillions of cubic feet.
  
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  The BC oil and gas industry is comprised primarily of companies involved in what is termed upstream activities, that is, the exploration and production sector of the industry. Exploration involves the search for petroleum including seismic surveys and drilling. Production describes the steps of getting petroleum out of the ground. There is very little downstream processing activity occurring in the province.
  
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  The major oil and gas companies that drive production in BC are mostly head quartered in Alberta. The bulk of the BC oil and gas industry is the service portion that supports the exploration, drilling, production and servicing of the thousands of wells across the region.