What Oil? What Jobs? What Problems!!

Are there commercial sized fields of oil in Hecate? Maybe, but Queen Charlotte Sound is a better place to look.
1) Mesozoic strata (the source of oil seeps on QCIs) did not erode away there.
2) Geologically quieter (until recent times) less faulting, compression etc (see lower fig)
Thus the large fields needed to make expensive offshore drilling and recovery commercially viable, more likely there.

Who Benefits?

Given the above scenario, exploration and pipelines would more likely go through Vancouver Island than NorthCoast.
The Offshore Exploration Environmental Assessment (1986) warned that local job expectations were unrealistic given the highly skilled nature of drilling and exploration.

Where is SHELL?

The map to right reveals Shell is the major leaseholder in Hecate and QC Sound. Shell chose not to participate in the 1980s Environmental Assessment. Given that Shell would be the main beneficiary of moratorium repeal, one would expect (require?) them to step forward as proponent for any lifting of said moratorium.

What Risks?

Funny, in the exploration literature "risk" is used in terms of "investment return" not environment.
Local boosters applaud advances made in offshore exploration in past decade, and point to Atlantic Canada as example that "progress" has conquered winds, waves, blow-out concerns.

Perhaps, but one would want to see how an enclosed-sea like Hecate compares to developed oil fields (Norway and North Sea are closer analogy than Maritimes).

Earthquake Zone

Even if 100 foot rogue waves (recorded several times in Hecate) are no longer a problem, the major risk specific to QC Sound remains to be addressed. As the first figure shows the Pacific plate is sliding past North America but the Explorer Plate is being subducted (going under N American plate). These plates don't go quietly to their demise as the seismicity figure shows.
Is this a problem? The precautionary principal Canada and BC acclaim warns it must be shown safe before development proceeds.

Technical Stuff

Dietrich (1995) has done a study combining recent geology and feeding this data and guesses into a model that claims to give probabilities for finding oil. It is his study that is used to cheer "better than Hibernia" type 'discussions'.

The figure to right illustrates differences between cross sections Hecate and QC Sound.

Note Hecate much more 'broken up', plus deep layers of Miocene rocks. A key weakness in Dietrich is how optimistic he is about this Miocene layers potential (the oil formation, heating window and maturity). These matters are for oil companies to ponder, but NorthCoast residents should be aware how "iffy" Dietrich's assumptions are.