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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News-Record, 1979-04-05, Page 18PAGE 18--CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, APRIL 5 , 1979 Shell wants Huron, land oil rights BY JEFF SEDDON A representative of Shell Canada Limited hinted to county council Thursday that there may be oil deposits under some county owned lands. But council was told that unless Shell was given mineral rights to those lands test wells to find that oil may never be drilled. David Johnson, a land man for Shell Canada Resources, told council that extensive ex- ploration for oil and gas indicated that if there was oil in southwestern Ontario it was in Huron County. He said ex- ploration programs started in 1976 had narrowed down potential drilling sites for oil and Huron County had the most potential. Johnson said Shell was in competition with Amoco in the search for oil and because of that competition he would not specify what county owned lands the firm was interested in getting the rights for. He did say that the land was near the lake and that the test well, if it was drilled, would be drilled adjacent to county lands not on them. He told council that before an oil company drills test wells it must have a "handle" on mineral rights. He said Shell had leased mineral rights on acerage in the 100,000's in Huron before it began seismic tests for oil reserves. He said the company would not drill test wells unless it had the sole rights to any oil or gas discovred. He explained to council that the county land was the only section Shell did not have mineral rights to in the area it wanted to drill. He said if the county did not grant the mineral rights the 'test well would - not be drilled. He added that the firm plans to start test drilling in the next few months suggesting council not delay on a decision to grant or not grant the rights. Oil exploration started in southwestern Ontario four years ago when companies began leasing mineral rights to lands. Once most of the rights had been secured two years of seismic testing began. The bulk of the sound testing took place on the side of roads in the county but Johnson said some times the testing was done on private land. He said the seismic testing enabled researchers to map subterranian levels giving them a better idea of where oil deposits could be. He said all the seismic testing does is tell them where oil or gas could be. Once that is determined a test well is dug. Council proached was ap- earlier on granting mineral rights to county owned land but turned the request down on the advice of the county solicitor. The advice from the solicitor indicated that council should not confuse or confine rights on publicly owned lands. Coupled with that is the refusal of the province of Ontario to grant any individual or firm any exclusive rights to public lands. Some county lands, most of which are reforestation projects, are owned in co-operation with the province and the province demands that no mineral rights be granted. Usborne reeve Bill Morley told Johnson he should be more specific if he wanted a favorable decision from council. He said it may help council to make a decision if it knew the potential for oil discovery, how much land Shell wanted to lease and how much oil the firm hoped to find. He said he had leased mineral rights on lands he owned and received $100 a year. He added that he would not be in- terested in granting a lease for one quarter of an acre for 25 cents but may be interested in a lease worth $25,000 a year. Johnson said he was not in position to be that explicit but could say that it would net the county more than $1,000 a year but he didn't know if it Complex... • from page 16 council will decide the proper location of the playing field, what and where the building should be, and an architect and engineer be hired. Mr. Ginn assured any doubters on the proposed location of the building that surely the architects and engineers will properly test the ground samples of the intended area and if it is absolutely satisfactory their ex- pertise would be trusted. Some neighboring home owners feel that the proposed site is too wet and the traffic will be too intense would he $30,000. He added that if oil was discovered the county would receive 12.5 per- cent of the price of a barrel of oil for every barrel produced. The Shell represen- tative said the land in Huron county was on the fringe of the Michigan basin. He' said that un- derground land for- mation had enjoyed some very productive oil wells and his firm was in- terested in seeing if the Broadcaster... • from page 16 Daley gave a slide show on the various facets which go into the production of his show. President of the township federation Jake Van Wonderen of Varna said farmers should pay more attention to Hensall... • from page 13 ret urned to his home Mr. and Mrs. Austin Wheeler of Detroit were weekend visitors with the latter's aunt, Mrs. Edgar Munn. Mrs. Florence Elizabeth (Christie) Meston of Hensall passed away at Huronview Home Clinton, on Tuesday March 27th, 1979 Hospital, London in her 95th year. She vas the beloved wife of the late Rubert Meston and dear mother of Mrs. John C. (Helen) Goddard of Hensall. Also surviving are four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Funeral service was from the Benthron Funeral Home, Hensall on Thursday March 29 with Rev. Kenneth Knight officiating. Interment was in Palmerston Cemetery. "We will have to buy alternative property," Mr. Ginn told them. Mr. Sinclair strongly suggested to the township that a master plan for recreation be established. This would be an inventory of all available private and public recreation facilities in the township. It would also include the expected population growth, the expected number of senior citizens, young people and children. "This way," 'he ex- plained, "we can more easily foresee the future recreation needs for the area." CAMEOeHArich, 5 Suncoast Mall, Goderich, 524-8515 Easter SPECIAL APRIL 4 - APRIL 14 EARPIERCING with STUDS ONLY $5.00 PLEASE CHECK OUR EVERYDAY LOW PRICES SHAMPOO & SE .. . , $4.50 STYLE CUT & RL W DRY $8.00 STREAKS complete with SET $18.00 CHILDREN'S CUTS FROM $4.00 PERMS complete FROM $18.00,,'` HOURS: MON. - TUES ED. 9:30-6 P.M. THUR., FRI. 9:30 - 9. SAT. 9-4 NO APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY Michigan basin extended to Huron county. He said the productivity of the wells in northern Michigan was not comparable to Oklahoma oil welds pointing out Huron county "does not have a mini Alberta". Morley said council should look at the Shell proposal -claiming council "had nothing to lose". He said it appeared if any oil was under county lands council would have to eive Shell mineral rights promoting themselves such as the major food retailers and rlrnrossorS do. According to Van Wonderen "We have to tell the people our side of the story." Merle Gunby, president of the l-luron federation congratulated Hay and Stanley on the .good turnout and said the OFA is :'doing a terrific job" of promoting the farmers' interests. before that oil could be pumped out. He said council should not be "overly concerned" about the environment since the test well was not going to damage anything. But the Usborne reeve did say council should lease all of its land or none of it. He said it was much better to get a cheque for $30,000 than it was a cheque for $1,000. Seaforth reeve John Flannery suggested council hold out for the best deal possible. He said if there was oil there in any quantities the oil companies would be back. He suggested the development committee investigate the mineral rights for county lands and report back to council. Warden Jack Tinney agreed with Flannery pointing out that the oil companies are "quite accessible when they want a lease". Concert creations fine markets... of [Inc foods g #Pr e h The children of the Clinton Nursery school have been busy the last couple of weeks, preparing for their concert, being held this Tuesday night at Clinton Public School at 7: 30 p.m. Making colorful hats on Tuesday were, left to right, Crystal Lee, Naomi Duddy, and Raquel Daer, while teacher Mrs. Nancy Wise, watches. (News -Record photo) super special 8 FLAVOUR CHOICES ZEHRS ICE CREAM 9 2 LITRE CTN. SP- YORK TENDER SPECIAL 10W30 VALVOLINE MOTOR OIL 1 LITRE SIZE CASE of 24 ... S17.99 EA. SPECIAL, 7 VARIETIES LANCIA TO CHOOSE FROM PASTA OUR REG. 99' 2 Ib. PKG.7 c SPECIAL, WESTONS DELICIOUS NOT CROSS ,BUNS PKG o,. OUR REG. 89' SPECIAL HEINZ FANCY TOMATO 10MA �UICI JUICE 48 oz. TIN SPECIAL LARGE SIZE BAG McCAINS FRENCH$ FRIES FROZEN 3 1/2 Ib. OUR REG. 1.45 SPECIAL ZEHRS PLAIN OR SALTED TOPS SODA 16 oz PKG 69C CRACKERS THIS SPECIAL AVAILABLE ONLY IN STORES HAVING A COUNTRY OVEN BAKERY BROWN OR CRUSTY FRESH ROLLS PKGS OF 8 FOR 250 9 SPECIAL GAY LEA TANGY ONION CHIP DIP 59c SPECIAL APPLE OR APPLE CRUMB MRS. SMITHS PIES WE RESERVF THF RIGHT SPECIAL FRESH DELICIOUS DIETRICHS ►, `COUNTRY SCONE' OUR REG. 53' EA. /// super special BEEF. TURKEY OR CHICKEN YORK MEAT PIES 8 oz PIES FOR SPECIAL TOMATO OR VEGETABLE OUR REG. 28' SPECIAL PRODUCED BY MAPLE LANE BEATRICE CREAMED COTTAGE CHEESE 375 gr. OUR REG. 90' 1 c SPECIAL DUNCAN HINES COUNTRY RECIPE CAKE MIXES 9c BREAD TO LIMIT PURCHASES TO REASONABLE WEEKLY FAMILY CHEF BOY -AR -DEE 15 oz. MAPLEAF SPAGHETTI &MEATBALLS65` CANNED PICNICS TN °2.59 SPECIAL, FROZEN %- GusALL DRESSED ,1. -e.PIZZA REQUIREMENTS 24 or BOSTON STYLE OR WITH PORK HEINZ BEANS_ 1.o,TINS 2a89` KIDNEY BEANS KOTEX MAXI PADS 14 oz TINS 2R 69c NEW FREEDOM =a• BRAVO -WITH MEAT OR MUSHROOM $2.19 CLUB HOUSE - POURING CARTON BLACK PEPPER 4DIAL BpTNE BAR REGULAR CHICKEN OR LIVER CHUM DOG F000 DRY DOG SPAGHETTI SAUCE =a o, 99c TOTAL DIET MAPLE LEAF FLAKES OF HAM_ 6 75 oz $1.19 CHEF BOY -AR -DEE BEEFARONI OR MINI RAVIOLI 26 oz. FROZEN SPECIAL SCHNEIDERS MILD TASTING MARBLE CHEESE 12 oz1 .49 15 oz 65c SPECIAL CANADA PACKERS FINE DUALITY TENDERFLAKE LARD x,1.89 WESTCARE 106g $1.39 14 4or 1 .29 4 Kg BANDAGE STRIPS STRAINED FRUIT. VEG OR JUICES HEINZ BABY FOOD SPECIAL LARGE SIZE YORK SMOOTHY PEANUT BUTTER .3.99 24 oz JAR 14 5 oz_22c $3.29 PKG OF 99C 100 REGULAR PRICE 128 ml 27 SPECIAL CRISP CRUNCHY BREAD 6 BUTTER RICKS PICKLES 69c c OUR REG 2.98 12 oz PKG SPECIAL NORTHERN GOLD 3 VARIETIES GRANOLA BARS .09 8 or PKGS SPECIAL FRESH DELICIOUS 6 VARIETIES YOORTMAN COOKIES 2$1 F 0 R SPECIAL GARRITY EXTRA POWERFUL DISPOSABLE FLASHLIGHT C EA ALL SPECIAL PRICES ON THESE TWO PAGES AVAILABLE IN ALL ZEHRS MARKETS UNTIL CLOSING TUESDAY, APRIL 10 Qq