Building an environmental assessment that responds to community needs

ConocoPhillips Chinook Projects

When ConocoPhillips undertook a shale oil exploration drilling project in the Sahtu land claim region, community was top of mind. They engaged our Sahtu-based Indigenous Business Partnership, Kalo Stantec, to support development of the project.

The project would require the use of hydraulic fracturing to produce oil from the shale formation. Local communities and regulators raised questions and concerns about potential impacts to the environment in the region from an unknown technology.

ConocoPhillips recognized the importance of addressing concerns and engaged our team to complete a comprehensive environmental effects assessment report to support multi-year exploration regulatory applications. To address the communities’ concerns about future development, Kalo Stantec also co-developed a plain language overview of potential effects on the community of future development in the region. 

In the end, the exploration applications were approved by the Sahtu Land and Water Board without referral to environmental assessment, allowing the project to proceed on schedule.