Oil vandal questioned in B.C. pipeline bombings

Darcy Wintonyk
ctvbc.ca
Mon Oct. 20 2008

As B.C. police search for more evidence of last week's two pipeline bombings near Dawson Creek, a man convicted of similar crimes says investigators have questioned him about these recent attacks.

160_bc_ludwig_weibo_081020.jpg Weibo Ludwig, an Alberta farmer who spent nearly two years in prison on charges related to bombings against oil and gas wells in 1997 and 1998, calls the oil industry “serial killers.” October 20, 2008.

Wiebo Ludwig is an Alberta farmer who spent nearly two years in prison on charges related to bombings against oil and gas wells in 1997 and 1998. He is an outspoken critic of oil and gas expansion in rural Alberta.

CTV's Lisa Rossington asked Ludwig whether he thought the violence attacking the pipeline would escalate in light of the two recent bombings in northeastern B.C.

"You still want to go there where you shouldn't be going," said Ludwig from his home in Hyth, Alberta -- about 70 kilometres southeast of Dawson Creek.


160_cp_search_081018.jpg
Authorities conduct a grid search at the site of the second pipeline explosion near Dawson Creek, B.C., on Friday Oct. 17, 2008. (RCMP / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

"The industry is escalating its developments -- that's the escalating that you should be concerned about. That's where the violence is. That's where the dangers are."

Ludwig says although he had nothing to do wtih the recent bombings, he is very moved by the plight of B.C. farmers affected by sour gas pipelines and could understand how landowners could commit an act of vandalism out of frustration.

"Yeah, but I think we should stop yakking about that, frankly, because the industry is killing lots of people," he told CTV News. "They're serial killers."

Two explosions

In the past week, two explosive devices have erupted under two sour gas pipelines owned by energy giant EnCana in Northeastern B.C.

The first blast blew a nearly two-metre crater in the ground near a pipeline last Saturday. Four days later, a second blast blew a small leak in a pipe 20 kilometres away.

No one was injured in the blasts, but the RCMP's anti-terrorism unit is investigating.

160_BC_Pipeline_Letter_081019.jpg The letter that was sent to a local newspaper just days before the pipeline bombing.
"I think that the alarm bells are going off and that is indicated by the fact that the RCMP are bringing in the people who deal with terrorism to look at this," Mercedes Stephenson, a military analyst, told CTV Newsnet Sunday.

She said that there are 2,000 wells around Calgary and most of them are unmonitored and easy targets.

Stephenson said that the cost of protecting the pipelines would be immense and that gas companies would could feel terrorism was a significant possibility before investing in pipeline security.

Meanwhile, EnCana Corp. says it is expanding security around the pipeline but says the networks of pipes are difficult to patrol because of the massive area of land they cover.

Search expands

As investigators wrap up their work at the scene of last week's second pipeline bombing, police are expanding their search for a truck spotted near the area.

160_bc_dawson_creek_pipeline_2_081017.jpg Experts say the blast shows just how vulnerable Canada's pipelines are. Oct. 17, 2008.
Hunters report seeing the truck at around 6 a.m. on Thursday -- just hours after the second blast. It's described as a new model, full-sized pickup truck with square LED lights.

RCMP Sgt. Tim Shields says a number of exhibits have been seized from the second blast site but it's too early to tell if any will help crack the case.

No arrests have been made but police are focusing on a threatening letter sent to local media complaining about the oil and gas industry.

With files from CTV British Columbia and The Canadian Press

Posted by Arthur Caldicott on 21 Oct 2008