The Heartlands Oil and Gas Road Rehabilitation Strategy (HOGRRS) is a five-year investment initiative, funded by the Province of British Columbia, which upgrades public roads and trunk roads located throughout Northeast British Columbia (NEBC) that are used extensively by the Oil and Gas Industry. The primary objective is to extend the drilling and service season by reducing the impact of seasonal road restrictions or bans. An increased season results in additional drilling and royalty revenues to the Province, and over time these additional royalty revenues exceed the investment made by the Province. A year round drilling season also benefits the province’s oil and gas service and supply sector.
The oil and gas industry requires a strong, reliable and efficient road network to explore and develop the resources in Northeastern BC. The overriding requirement is to create a grid of roads capable of supporting year round industrial traffic in Northeastern BC.
Public roads throughout Northeastern BC were primarily built prior to the existence of the oil and gas industry to provide safe and effective transportation for the general public. In much of the North and South Peace Regions, roads were built to support a developing agricultural industry. These roads were not designed for, nor can they withstand, the type or frequency of loads that currently travel over them. Increased industrial traffic and heavier loads have resulted in roads in NEBC deteriorating to where they pose safety hazards. The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (MEMPR) in conjunction with the Ministry of Transportation have started to improve and rehabilitate public roads to a new Peace Template road design. The Peace Template is designed to support the oil and gas industry’s use of public roads in Northeastern BC.
In course of identifying, analyzing, evaluating and selecting candidate roads for the HOGRRS program, MEMPR consulted with the following stakeholders:
- Oil and gas producers with active operations throughout NEBC;
- Northeast Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (NE RTAC); and,
- Ministry of Transportation.
The following table indicates the funding provided to The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to deliver HOGRRS:
| HOGRRS Program Funding |
| Year |
Investment |
| 2004/2005 |
$18.0 million |
| 2005/2006 |
$32.5 million |
| 2006/2007 |
$42.0 million |
| 2007/2008 |
$42.0 million |
| 2008/2009 |
$42.0 million |
Seasonal load restrictions in NEBC’s Peace District last an average of 90 days from mid-March to mid-June of each year. The first four years of HOGRRS funding allowed approximately 25 oil and gas producers to continue drilling during the traditionally closed winter breakup period. Strengthened HOGRRS public roads exempted from the spring load restrictions enabled oil and gas producers to extend their drilling season. Without the upgrades these roads would be subject to load restrictions and several months of oil and gas activity and their associated royalty stream to the province would be unrealized.
