By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 14 -- British Columbia has joined the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) as the organization's seventh non-US affiliate.
Through IOGCC International, affiliates have full access to the organization's information and resources as well as the opportunity to participate on committees.
Bill Phelan, director of the Offshore Branch of the Ministry of Energy and Mines in British Columbia, represented the province at the IOGCC December annual meeting in Little Rock, Ark., where the province's application was unanimously approved.
British Columbia 's coal seam natural gas potential is estimated at 89 tcf. In addition to its considerable onshore gas reserves, British Columbia is estimated to have as much as 42 tcf of offshore gas potential.
The province also is expected to become active in the North American Coastal Alliance, a group formed in 1998 by several IOGCC representatives to identify areas of concern to coastal states.
