Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 35

Jliiiiiiiillllillllliiul ROYAL LEPAGE Home Match MarketsD3 5 EDITOR: Peter Colfum. 429-5325 I 2MB i 'Mai IS (B Ms sturaoiriieir U.S. demand never higher "I've never seen summer demand as great as it Is now." MAKIN HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES Brian Welda of Armena, holds off. he says he'll bale the grasses and clover promptly. John Lucas Journal near Camrose.

swaths hay to be used to feed his cattle. If the rain Lobbyists misinformed, says aviation council World beats a path to oil patch course Alan Boras Calgary Herald Calgary Summer used to be the slow time for natural gas shippers, when home furnaces seldom ran and gas prices fell substantially. Five years ago. Alberta's gas exports ran about 35 per cent lower in the summer than in winter. But this year Canadian gas producers are enjoying the best summer demand ever, fuelled by gas-burning electrical generation that is keeping pipelines running close to flat out even in the hot months.

"I've never seen summer demand as great as it is now," says Tony Teare, executive vice-president at Czar Resources Ltd. Czar's sales have grown every month this year and gas brokers "have been asking for all the gas we can produce," Teare said. "There's really no problem selling your gas at the moment" said Roger Goodman, director of the natural gas centre at Shell Canada Canada's second largest gas producer after Amoco Canada Petroleum Co. Several factors are contributing to the new summer rush on natural gas, including the refilling of storage reservoirs sucked low during winter cold. Eric Shelton, vice-president of customer sales at Nova said when the United States removed regulations preventing the burning of gas for electricity generation, Alberta's methane found a new summer thrust Across North America, independent power companies have built new plants, and old plants have been converted to burn gas instead of oil.

In summer they're running hard to air-condition southern and eastern U.S. homes, helping oil como-panies maintain gas sales year round. "They're driving higher summer volumes," said Shelton. This year, the traditional summer lull on Nova's gas collection network of pipes across Alberta is smaller and less noticeable. In the summer of 1992, export volumes through Alberta three main lines fell only 11 per cent from the previous winter.

the work (involved in the two)," ERCB spokesman Peter Kinnear said Friday. Stakeholders would include members from Alberta Environment Network and Alberta Environmental Protection Department from the industries involved (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers), and from Alberta Health, Alberta Special Waste Management Corporation as well as others, he said. Kinnear also said the process to develop rules for deepwell disposal MAIRI MacLEAN Journal Business Writer Edmonton Two executive members of a newly-formed pro-International Airport group are misinformed about safety and other issues at the Edmonton Municipal Airport, says the executive director of the Alberta Aviation Council. "The Muni is definitely licensed as an all-weather airport, and at 250 feet its landing limits (predicated on the pilot's ability to see the runway) are some of the lowest in Canada Safety is not an issue, in the sense that those who fly here (into the Muni) comply with all the regulations as set down by Transport Canada," said Ken Beleshko, reacting to remarks by Lena Fernandez and Wayne Farrell, president and vice-president of Air Edmonton. The two had said losing the international airport would mean losing the city's only all-weather airport They also noted that the Municipal has air controllers for 16 hours a day, versus 24-hour service at the International.

Beleshko said there are no flights between these hours because of a noise abatement curfew imposed by the City. "It's a good neighbor, noise-abatement policy," he said. The aviation council is a private, non-profit society representing private airline pilots, base operators, tenants of airports and those involved in aviation safety. It also operates the Civil Air Rescue Emergency Services (CARES), which helps the military in searches and other civil disasters. In an interview Thursday, Farrell raised the question of where an aircraft would land "if it's in trouble and the International is closed." But Beleshko said that all pilots are required to file a flight plan which includes an alternate airport destination like Calgary.

Beleshko went on to say "good international air service doesn't equate with size of aircraft." He said while the Muni's restrictions on runway length do prohibit certain aircraft, "new aircraft like the Air Bus A320 could conceiv-eably take off from the Muni and fly non-stop to Toronto." Adams said the summer program has grown steadily over time but has a ceiling of 60 students at a time. There are 57 this time because three from Sudan could not make it The remainder still represent more than 20 countries, from Algeria to Vietnam. Those with sponsorship from their organizations get preference. But then the tuition fee of $10,900 is high enough to encourage applicants to seek sponsorships. The institute in turn has the support of the Universities of Alberta and Calgary its operating bases as well as the federal and provincial governments and Alberta's oil patch.

Adams sees the institute encouraging profitable contacts between Canadian and overseas oil firms. "It's a soft sell in a number of ways." He said there are probably about 20 companies operating in Canada which have, to use his term, international ambitions. PanCanadian Petroleum, for instance, is active in Tunisia. Canadian Occidental Petroleum is in Pakistan. Both countries have representatives at the institute's summer program.

"Everybody wants to know the Chinese," Adams said. "Nova has just landed a training contract in China." Russia has also caught the oil-patch's interest But there are no Russians in the institute program. Adams thinks that's because there are relatively few in the Russian oil sector who speak English well enough to take part "We have been approached to offer the course in the Russian language." Before that can happen the institute must be able to sign up enough students from Russia in advance, he said. DUNCAN THORNE Journal Business Writer Edmonton Pei Ying, an interpreter from the China National Petroleum wants to know more about the oil-production business. So Pei is in Edmonton with two colleagues from the state-owned company, and with senior officials or rising stars who represent other oil interests around the globe.

"We know of the Canadian petroleum industry, especially in Alberta," Pei said Friday. "We know that the industry is sophisticated." She and her fellow visitors are here for a six-week course with the Canadian Institute for Petroleum Industry Development. While Pei wants to increase her technical knowledge, Wilfred Ra-dan of the Philippines state oil company Petron Corp. is here to brush up on management aspects of the industry. Radan, a divisional manager at Petron, said the course offers a different perspective particularly as it brings people together from so many countries.

"We do not have this kind of training in our country," he said. The institute began in 1982 when five people from Malaysia arrived at the University of Alberta looking for insights on the industry, said executive director Peter Adams. Adams, then dean of engineering, recalled: "We put on a program for them that lasted the whole summer." The general summer program has continued every year, although the institute has since added custom-designed courses for some clients. It tailored one course to managers of two Chinese oilfields. It has even gone to some countries, including Thailand.

Tony Teare, executive vice-president, Czar Resource Ltd. This year, export volumes peaked at 8.94 billion cubic feet per day in March and fell to a low of 7.1 billion cubic feet per day in May. But June volumes jumped back up to peak at 823 billion cubic feet per day, only eight per cent lower than winter peaks. In 1988. the main gas pipeline to central Canada operated by TransCanada PipeLines Ltd.

was 88 per cent full in winter and 77 per cent full in summer. But this year, TCPL ran 96 per cent full in winter and is 94 per cent full this summer. "The trough has disappeared," said Bruce Leslie, a spokesman for TCPL. Gary Davis, of Iroquois Gas Transmission System that feeds a boom for gas to generate power in the New England states, said if the trend continues, summer demands could outpace winter flows on the pipeline. The U.S.

Clean Air Act is placing new restrictions on electricity plant emissions, forcing gas sales ever higher because oil-burning plants must cut summer pollution, Davis said. Beside power demands, other factors have boosted summer volumes, including the refilling of storage, owned by local distribution companies such as Canadian Western Natural Gas Co. Companies drew down storage last winter and fear there could be delivery constraints in both the U.S. and Canada this winter, Goodman said. Alberta Energy Co.

is adding major storage facilities in old gas reservoirs near Medicine Hat. The pipelines are also running close to full since warmer summer temperatures cut the amount of gas that can be shipped by about four to eight per cent. Steadier demand also keeps prices from falling as far as in past years. In the late 1980s, summer prices used to drop about 60 cents per thousand cubic feet but they are only down about 30 cents from winter, Goodman said. had been proceeding apace, and although Alberta environmental groups had been invited to parti cipate, "the opportunity was there and not taken up." "Then Alberta Environmental Network and Toxic Watch expressed concern (about lack of input), so the ERCB said 'we'll go through this process to deal with "The August 25 session is an agenda-setting exercise and in September, with issues identified, they can hopefully be dealt with fully." foam rubber bats, which were labelled "wife beater." The store was also the unfortunate location for a suicide.

In 1984, a city man leaped from the third-floor escalator to his death. "Shoppers were stunned as the man fell down the escalator well on to the store's main floor just before closing time Tuesday," a Journal account said. The store's emphasis on quality service was also a focus of a novel 1955 campaign, lauding the training of the sales staff in its shoe department Mug shots of the serious-looking, 12-member sales team appeared under the heading: "Graduates of the Footwear Institute of Canada." They completed courses of study at the august institute in such areas as the "fitting of problem feet and the different types of problem feet" The West Edmonton Mall Woodward's store also closes Saturday and re-opens as The Bay in mid-August The Mill Woods store is closed and the Westmount store is a Zel-lers. Stores in Northwood and South-gate will close July 30. 'Process' announced for deep well disposal The first will take place August 25, a one day "agenda-setting" session at the Edmonton Inn In September there will be a one-day workshop on deepwell disposal (date to be determined), followed by a round-table discussion on the regulatory process for oilfield waste.

"Both issues have been driven by the new need for regulation as a consequence of passing the new Alberta Environment Protection Act (AEPA). And we need to divvy up Loyal shoppers saddened by closing of Woodward's MAIRI MacLEAN Journal Business Writer Edmonton The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has announced its new "public involvement process" to deal with deepwell disposal of oilfield waste and general oilfield waste requirements. The ERCB is inviting stakeholders to participate in three sessions as it finalizes its approach to the regulatory process on the two waste issues. said. "I've been a customer since I came to Canada 40 years ago." Blevins, who arrived in Canada from Ireland, said she remained loyal to Woodward's because of the quality of its merchandise and the service and manners of its staff.

But about 25 years ago, she first started to notice a decline in quality. "I think things started to go downhill" then, Blevins suggested She will not extend her loyalty to The Bay, when it opens in the Edmonton Centre location in mid-August Gene Laschuk was also touring the store, a place he shopped at for 35 years, mostly for clothes. As a resident of the downtown, he also used to buy his groceries there. Safeway eventually took over the store in the basement He said closing the grocery store in 1991 hurt Woodward's business. Another veteran customer, Joanne Campbell, also wasn't pleased to witness the end of Woodward's, after being a loyal customer for a quarter century.

"I'm very sad about it" she said. "I think it's a good quality store. They had a good staff here and good quality things." ''t i ROSS HENDERSON Journal staff writer Edmonton After 67 years in the heart of the downtown, the Edmonton Centre Woodward's store will close its doors for good on Saturday. The shopping institution opened with a flourish in mid-October of 1926, extravagantly proclaimed as "one of the West's Greatest Stores" in the Edmonton Bulletin. A company advertisement extolled the virtues of the three- storey building, at 101 Street and 102 Avenue.

It noted its basement "with ter-razo floor and faced with polished granite from British Columbia, is one of the finest store basements in Canada." That Erst store went through various incarnations over the years to rise to six storeys, before it was knocked down to make way for the Edmonton Centre development in the mid-1970s. The demolition was noted with a tinge of regret in a Journal editorial in May of 1974. "There were times when this hulking structure seemed a six-lev-ef echo of Grand Central station "I'm very sad about it I think it's a good quality store. They had a good staff here and good quality things." Joanne Campbell, veteran customer gone mad," the paper's editorial said Early Friday morning, the final version of the store was anything but reminiscent of bedlam. As in every other early morning of its existence, a collection of older shoppers, many devoted to the store for decades, prowled the aisles, buying or browsing.

There wasn't much to choose from. Most of the store was roped off, its shelves bare, with signs advising that "staff only" could venture beyond the barriers. Another sign at the escalators advised: "All upper levels now closed." Miriam Blevins was among a couple dozen shoppers passing through the quiet store, halfway through the morning, and she regretted to see its last days. "I feel very sad about it," she City Archive photo Circa 1940 photo of original downtown Woodward's store Marlyne Seeman, a "fragrance consultant" staffed a deserted cosmetics counter. She had enough free time to busy herself meticulously cleaning the glass display cabinets.

Despite the meagre crowd, the store was busy in recent weeks as sales lured customers, she said. She is among the fortunate Woodward's workers who will get a job in the new Bay store. In its long history, the downtown store sometimes attracted attention for reasons other than the quality of its merchandise. The Alberta Status of Women Action Committee made the store a target of protest in 1984, forcing Woodward's to stop selling novelty,.