[The documents] include plans for Chevron Canada as it drills the country's deepest exploration well in 2,600 metres of water, about 425 kilometres northeast of St. John's.

Critics have raised concerns that Chevron only projected how an oil slick originating on the surface would spread. There were no such models done for a deepsea blowout such as the April 20 explosion on a BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers and spewed up to 700 million litres of crude into the sea.

Biologist and researcher Gail Fraser of 91��ɫ in Toronto is among those calling for better regulation and updated oil spill plans from offshore operators.

The repeated failure of efforts to cap the gusher in the Gulf exposed the limits of existing technology, she said. “I think Canadians really need to consider what is the worst-case scenario and ask themselves, ‘Is that tolerable? Are we willing to put up with that?’ Because we’ve seen now what the worst-case scenario is in the Gulf of Mexico.

“We really need to be thinking very hard and asking our governments: Are we doing our best at protecting ocean ecosystems? I would say we’re not even close.”

Fraser, a professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, also spoke about the concerns over deepsea oil spills, on radio stations in Belleville,Ont.; Saskatoon, Sask.; and Gander and St. John’s, Nfld. July 26. She has been a vocal of Chevron Canada's plans for several months.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Fraser was also interviewed for a news story on CBC.ca about :

Last month, officials from Chevron Canada told a Senate committee that it had performed 14,000 trajectory simulations and none of those tests showed oil reaching any coastline. However, where the oil would go is a mystery.

On Wednesday, Gail Fraser, an environmental scientist at 91��ɫ University, told CBC News that she was disappointed, but not surprised, that the details were withheld.

She said under the Atlantic Accord, oil companies were given the legal right to choose which information can be made public or kept private.

"So, even though they might have to tell the petroleum board, the CNLOPB, what they need to disclose, the [board] cannot disclose that data to the public unless they have written permission from the operators," Fraser said.

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