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Fracking Futures: Political-Ecological and Socioeconomic Realities in Southwestern Manitoba’S Oil Field by Kaela-Mae Hlushko

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Fracking Futures: Political-Ecological and Socioeconomic Realities in Southwestern Manitoba’S Oil Field by Kaela-Mae Hlushko Fracking Futures: Political-Ecological and Socioeconomic Realities in Southwestern Manitoba’s Oil Field by Kaela-Mae Hlushko A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Environment and Geography University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright @ 2017 Kaela-Mae Hlushko i Abstract: Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has arrived in southwestern Manitoba enabling oil companies to drill in formally inaccessible and uneconomic areas on the fringes of the Bakken Shale. My study analyzes the regulatory framework, assessment regime, and potential political-ecological and socioeconomic effects of new fracking technologies in Manitoba. I look beyond fracking as a technical exercise, engaging with it as a situated lived experience. Through purposive qualitative interviews with those affected by the industry, immersion in the field and an evaluation of grey literature studies, I describe the attitudes and realities of people living amidst the fracking boom. I ultimately unfold the narrative of fracking in the province to reveal a neoliberal program that I argue puts economic and technical desires above public health and environmental concerns. ii Acknowledgments: I would like to acknowledge and thank the people who have helped, guided and encouraged me through my research and thesis. Firstly, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jonathan Peyton for his insight and patience through this process. I would also like to thank my thesis committee members, Dr. Fabiana Li and Dr. Michelle Driedger for their support and contributions to my thesis. I also want to express my gratitude to the University of Manitoba Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for providing financial assistance for my research. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Scott, and my family for their unwavering belief in my academic abilities. iii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Fracking in Manitoba: an introduction to local geographies in the Bakken ................................ 1 Fracking in Manitoba ................................................................................................................................ 4 What is Fracking and Why is it Important? .............................................................................................. 6 How the West was Won: A Short History of Oil Exploration in Southwestern Manitoba ....................... 8 Methodology and Ethics ......................................................................................................................... 15 Roadmap of Thesis: What to expect from my research .......................................................................... 19 Chapter 2: Legislating the Oil Boom: Governance in Manitoba’s Oil Industry ......................................... 21 Fracking Legislation in Manitoba ........................................................................................................... 23 The Petroleum Branch ............................................................................................................................ 24 Federal Influences on Southwestern Manitoba’s Oil Patch .................................................................... 27 Federally Funded Oil Research in Manitoba .......................................................................................... 28 The Oil and Gas Act: Outcomes, Adherents and Elisions ...................................................................... 30 Safety Culture and the Universalizing of Risk and Responsibility ......................................................... 33 Buried Networks: Pipeline and Flowline Legislation ............................................................................. 37 Oil Spills and the Threat of Environmental Disaster .............................................................................. 39 Decommissioning and Remediation: Attempts to Erase a Well ............................................................. 42 Sustainably Developing Non-Renewables .............................................................................................. 45 The Surface Rights Act ........................................................................................................................... 49 Other Relevant Acts ................................................................................................................................ 52 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 56 Chapter 3- Environmentality and the Making of Manitoba’s Oil Cultures ................................................. 59 Manitoba’s ‘Dirty’ Little Secret .............................................................................................................. 60 Environmentality on the Prairie: Governing Southwestern Manitoba’s Oil Industry ............................. 62 Discursive Regimes of Power: Thinking about Manitoban Oil .............................................................. 65 Corporate Bodies: Governing Health, Safety and Environment in Manitoba’s Oil Industry ................. 68 Neoliberal Governance in Manitoba’s Oil Industry ................................................................................ 70 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 81 Chapter 4 -Silent Epistemologies: Confessions from Manitoba’s Oil Field ............................................... 83 Fracking as a Technical Experience ........................................................................................................ 83 iv Fracking as an Environmental Experiment ............................................................................................. 92 Fracking as a Lived Experience ............................................................................................................ 106 Chapter 5- What goes up must come down: Conclusions about life in Manitoba’s oil field .................... 116 Fracking in southwestern Manitoba: Implications of Big Oil in a small town ..................................... 121 Appendix A: Ethics Protocol Submission Form ....................................................................................... 141 Summary of Project .............................................................................................................................. 141 Research Instruments ............................................................................................................................ 142 Participants ............................................................................................................................................ 142 Informed Consent.................................................................................................................................. 143 Deception .............................................................................................................................................. 143 Feedback and Debriefing ...................................................................................................................... 143 Risks and Benefits................................................................................................................................. 144 Anonymity/Confidentiality ................................................................................................................... 145 Compensation ....................................................................................................................................... 145 Dissemination ....................................................................................................................................... 145 Appendix B: Interview Questions ............................................................................................................. 146 Appendix C: Recruitment Email ............................................................................................................... 147 Works Cited .......................................................................................................................................... 148 v Table of Figures Figure 1: Map of the extent of the Williston Basin ....................................................................................... 9 Figure 2: Map of daily Sinclair oil field in southwestern Manitoba ........................................................... 12 Figure 3: Comparison of horizontal and vertical drilled wells in Manitoba from 2005-2014 .................... 13 Figure 4: Manitoba's Oil Cultures - the first pump jack on display in the town of Virden ......................... 15 Figure 5: Wells Drilled in Manitoba from 2003 – 2013 ............................................................................. 26 Figure 6: Enbridge Pipelines across North America ................................................................................... 38 Figure 7: Aerial Photograph of approx. 100,000 Liter Oil Spill from Broken Underground Flowline in Southwestern Manitoba near Saskatchewan Border in January 2015 - Spill is outlined in Blue ............... 40 Figure 8: "Environmental Education Programs Sponsored by Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership" - Sign
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