“Mischief” at several well sites in a rural area near Fort St. John, BC — including valves being tampered with and shots fired at structures — does not appear to be related to a series of minor explosions along an EnCana Corp. natural gas pipeline near Dawson Creek, BC, earlier this year, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigators said on Thursday.

The newest incidents occurred at well sites operated by Iteration Energy and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Serious Crime Unit of the Fort St. John RCMP Detachment.

Earlier this month the RCMP said EnCana, which endured minor explosions along its natural gas pipeline less than 50 miles from Fort St. John three times in October, was probably targeted by a local person with a grievance against the company (see Daily GPI, Dec. 4).

On Oct. 7, five days prior to the first of the three explosions, handwritten letters demanding that EnCana cease its operations were mailed from a Dawson Creek drugstore to the company and two local newspapers. The letters, addressed to “EnCana and all other oil and gas interests in the Tom’s Lake Area,” made no specific threats, but warned that “We will not negotiate with terrorists, which you are as you keep on endangering our families with crazy expansion of deadly gas wells in our home lands.”

The first of the explosions occurred Oct. 12 about 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Dawson Creek (see Daily GPI, Oct. 16). At the time the RCMP said an “explosive device” had been detonated, which damaged but did not rupture the 12-inch diameter steel gas line. A second explosion was discovered Oct. 16 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 17) and a third on Oct. 31 (see Daily GPI, Nov. 4).

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