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(CBC News; Aug. 1) - A national trade association revised an earlier forecast and now says that natural gas drilling activity in British Columbia's northeast will likely be 22 percent lower this year than originally predicted. Fort Nelson, B.C., sits on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, but Petroleum Services Association of Canada President Mark Salkeld said only 485 wells will be drilled in B.C. instead of roughly 620 that were expected, mainly due to declining commodity prices.

"It's been a steady decline since our initial forecast for 2012. ... We've been revising down every quarter simply because we've been following the trend with regards to dry natural gas prices, which have been steadily declining to lows we haven't seen in a long time." Jeremy Cote, president of the Fort Nelson Chamber of Commerce, said the slowdown is already having ripple effects on the economy in Fort Nelson.

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