Well Planning - Wellcore :: First Nations

Wellcore's First Nations operational component is designed to capture information that can be utilized in the pre-assessment of an area where an application has been made for drilling activity. The component was initially designed to accommodate the needs of Treaty 8 First Nations in British Columbia, where large traditional use areas are impacted. The software permits the First Nation communities to become vested stakeholders in activities on their lands that potentially impact their treaty rights to hunt, trap and fish.

The First Nations component was a pilot project funded by the OGC and the petroleum industry and is designed to streamline the business process and communication between First Nations communities, regulatory bodies and industry stakeholders. One of the benefits of the workflow process that can be realized by the industry is decreasing the time to production. Currently, a company manually submits a well license application (hard copy) to the OGC. The OGC ships the land assessment package to the First Nations community with a defined time commitment for return. The First Nations community performs the site assessment and manually communicates back their findings to the OGC. The OGC then completes the license application in consideration of the consultation outcome with the First Nations community, and then communicates the final result back to the industry.

Wellcore's First Nations component is an innovative program developed by Decision Dynamics Technology that enables the industry to streamline the process of consultation and license application approval through the regulatory bodies. Benefits include:

• a meaningful pre-consultation mechanism for activities scheduled on traditional land use areas
• a data management tool for First Nations communities
• improved communication processes, helping to minimize delay in time to production
• streamlined business processes between First Nations, regulatory bodies, and industry
• improved communication of critical land use information on areas sensitive to First Nations
• pre-assessment process of potential lease sites
• facilitation of co-stewardship of land through collaboration with industry
• integration with GIS systems
• automatic communication of work plan changes to First Nation communities
• reduced administration through an electronic process