Offshore Exploration - Related Articles
N.S. SEEKS CHANGE IN OFFSHORE ROYALTY RULES
A proposed amendment would give the Nova Scotia government access to information it can use to calculate offshore oil and gas royalties under a federal agreement. Chris Spencer, the Energy Department’s director of economic affairs, says the proposed change would enable the province to use provincial royalty information to calculate federal adjustment payments under the Crown Share Settlement. Spencer says the province can’t do that under regulations as they currently stand. The Crown Share Settlement was part of an accord setting up joint management of the offshore signed in 1988. Spencer says the change would allow the province to receive $33 million and $26.7 million in federal payments stemming from forecasts contained in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 budgets. He says Nova Scotia is expected to get $20 million for this fiscal year. The legislative change would not affect those figures. Energy Minister Charlie Parker says the province has received $408 million in payments so far under the Crown Share Settlement.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/81293-ns-seeks-change-offshore-royalty-rules
NDP DOWNPLAY OFFSHORE ROYALTIES
Successive Nova Scotia governments have relied upon it as a key revenue source, but now the royalties collected from the Sable energy project since 2001 are about to drop off a cliff. The decline in revenue from Sable wasn’t completely unexpected, but in its budget, released Tuesday, the NDP government is predicting royalties from the offshore project will fall to just $27.7 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year, from $117.9 million in fiscal 2011-12. The government is blaming historically low natural gas prices for much of the decline, and it’s true, that is a big part of the story. On Tuesday, for example, natural gas futures for May delivery closed at US$2.152 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Lately, the price has been flirting with the psychologically important low of US$2 per million Btu. It is also fact that production from the Sable development is in decline, another factor in determining government revenue from that project. The latest production numbers released by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board on its website (www.cnsopb.ns.ca) show that production declined to 201,740 cubic metres in February, a drop of nearly 32,000 cubic metres from the 233,739 cubic metres recorded in January.
In December, production from Sable totalled 236,217 cubic metres, according to the offshore regulator. The issue of declining production and revenue targets for Sable has been hanging over the offshore sector for some time. When the NDP government came into power in 2009 it was advised by noted economist Donald Savoie, hired by the new government to provide sage advice on the economy, to be careful when budgeting for offshore royalties. Accounting for little or no royalties, Savoie argued, would be prudent and protect government from driving up public expectations of an offshore windfall, which would only lead to disappointment as revenues declined. By being cautious in its budgeting, the government could use unexpected offshore revenue to pay down the debt or create a rainy-day fund if the price of natural gas improved. So far, the government seems to be taking Savoie’s advice. In his budget, Finance Minister Graham Steele indicated that natural gas revenue from Sable has declined since 2008-09, adding that the strong Canadian dollar has also contributed to the decline in royalties.
Some energy experts are now predicting natural gas will continue to hover around the US$2 level for some time to come, and the government seems to agree, stating that it doesn’t expect natural gas prices to change over the “medium term.” ExxonMobil Canada, the operating partner of the Sable project, plans to begin decommissioning Sable’s offshore production facilities sometime this year. This could last a couple of years but could take five years or more before it is completed. As the Sable project nears the end of its capacity, the decline in provincial revenue should be even more pronounced because the Sable partners are allowed to deduct abandonment costs from royalties, and that, according to the Finance Department, “has a significantly negative impact on offshore revenues.”
Meanwhile, Encana Corp.’s Deep Panuke energy project is slated to go into production in July but it just isn’t the same as Sable. The government says in its budget documents that it will receive about $2.5 million in royalty revenue from Deep Panuke in 2012-13, but warned: “While royalty revenues will increase over the medium term, they will not approach the revenues generated from the Sable project.” There the NDP goes again, managing expectations, and that’s probably a good thing.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/80666-ndp-wise-downplay-offshore-royalties
N.S. Firms Urged To Join Forces To Reap Deals From Big Projects
Nova Scotia businesses looking to cash in on upcoming megaprojects in the Atlantic region should consider teaming up instead of competing against each other, says the Nova Scotia vice-president of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. Ann Janega said strategic partnerships will be one the topics discussed during a series of upcoming workshops intended to help local companies wanting a piece of federal shipbuilding contracts, hydroelectric projects or offshore oil and gas exploration. “Most firms can benefit from partnering,” Janega said Friday in an interview. “Increasing their capacity by partnering with other like-minded firms can compliment what they’re doing.” The manufacturers and exporters group, in partnership with law firm McInnes Cooper, will hold the first day-long workshop on Tuesday at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel. The program, which includes morning presentations followed by a luncheon speaker, will include an overview of upcoming megaprojects. Speakers range from businesspeople with experience expanding into new fields to government officials with information on programs that can help with growth plans. The second session is scheduled for April 25 and will focus on safety. Three additional workshops are planned over the coming months and will cover such topics as financing and certification. Janega said workshop participants will be encouraged to look for supply-chain opportunities not only on the megaprojects themselves but in related construction and other development.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/74440-ns-firms-urged-join-forces-reap-deals-big-projects
Shell Gets Licences To Begin Offshore Exploration
Shell Canada Ltd. has received the paperwork needed to begin its $970-million exploration plan on Nova Scotia’s offshore. The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board said Thursday that it had finished issuing four exploration licences to the Calgary company. The offshore regulator announced Jan. 20 that it had awarded the company exploration rights for four deepwater parcels located 200 kilometres southwest of Halifax. The board said at the time that its plan was to issue the licences, which are in place for nine years, effective March 1. In the meantime, the federal and provincial governments had to sign off on the permits. Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and provincial Energy Minister Charlie Parker have since given their formal approvals, paving the way for licences to be issued Thursday. A board spokeswoman said the next step is for Shell to file a work plan that outlines how its project will unfold over the next three years. The global energy giant has until June 1 to make the filing. A Shell Canada spokesman said the company continues to develop its exploration program. “We’re still early in the venture,” Stephen Doolan said from Calgary. “We’re still deciding on various ways to proceed on the project.”
The company expects to begin 3-D seismic surveys next year and may start drilling as early as 2014.
“That’s dependent on the availability of seismic crews and drilling rigs,” Doolan said. A spokeswoman for the province’s oil and gas sector said it will likely be fall before the industry knows more about Shell’s plans. “They’re taking a look at their big-picture timeline,” said Barbara Pike, executive director of the Maritimes Energy Association. “It’s not going to happen overnight.” Shell, which is a partner in the Sable Offshore Energy Project, is leasing four parcels on the Scotian Margin, a largely unexplored area 200 kilometres southwest of Halifax. The leases acquired by the company, which abandoned a previous exploration program here seven years ago, were identified in a recent study as having significant oil reserves.
The nearly $1 billion that Shell has committed to spend over the next six years looking for oil here is a record high for the East Coast offshore industry. Meanwhile, the petroleum board is looking for a consultant to conduct environmental assessments of six offshore areas that may be available for exploration in the future. A tender call was issued Wednesday, with proposals due March 23. The contract will be awarded April 5. The six areas to be studied cover a large portion of the Scotian Shelf and Scotian Slope. The assessments will get underway this spring and be done in pairs. The first set is slated to be completed in October, with other reviews to follow next year and in 2014. In the meantime, the next call for exploration bids will be issued in May, with nominations for parcels now being accepted by the board until March 16.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/68905-shell-gets-licences-begin-offshore-exploration
Shell Plans 'Positive' for N.S.
If you’re in the energy business these days, you’re looking for crude oil and not natural gas.
That’s why veteran oil man Norman Miller says the decision by Shell to once again search for oil offshore of Nova Scotia is so exciting.
“It’s good for the province to have a longer horizon that could be promising,” he told me in a brief conversation from his home in Calgary, where he now lives following his retirement as the CEO of the junior energy company Corridor Resources Inc., which is based in Halifax.
Shell recently won leases on several deep-water blocks by promising to spend nearly $1 billion over the next six years.
The provincial government is crediting the findings of the so-called Play Fairway Analysis for helping convince Shell to return to Nova Scotia’s offshore.
An investigation of offshore geology for oil and gas potential, the analysis was released in June and it was reported that senior bureaucrats and consultants had been meeting with oil company representatives for months promoting the offshore potential uncovered in the $15-million report.
The study calculates offshore reserves of 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and eight-billion barrels of oil, which is three times higher than previous estimates.
“I can’t comment on that because I haven’t looked at what they did and what Shell based their decision making on, but I think it would have helped and it certainly didn’t hurt,” Miller said.
With the price of natural gas trading around $2.50 per million British thermal unit, due in part to over-supply and mild winter weather south of the border, and crude oil trading closer to $100 a barrel, the higher potential for profit has oil companies more interested in looking for oil.
A native of Nova Scotia, Miller is very familiar with the oil and gas potential of his home province.
In fact, Miller was working for Shell when the company was exploration for oil and natural gas on the West and East Coasts in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
It was in the early ’70s when many Nova Scotians started dreaming about the province becoming a rich energy centre, thanks in part to a hydrocarbon discovery made by Shell during an exploration program near Sable Island.
“We didn’t have the technology in those days to go out in deeper water and look at the (Scotian) slope and, you know, there appeared to be all kinds of potential on the shelf (at that time), which was much more accessible,” Miller said.
That’s why the decision by Shell to return to Nova Scotia’s offshore to look for oil in the deepwater is so encouraging, he said.
“Any time you get a commitment to spend money like that, that’s a positive thing,” he said in his own understated fashion.
“If you don’t look, you know, you can’t find and so that’s really good that they made that commitment.”
But he knows exploration doesn’t necessarily lead to immediate success. The successful hydrocarbon discovery made offshore in the early ’70s didn’t lead to a producing well on the Scotian Shelf until much later.
It was Miller who returned to Nova Scotia in the early 1990s, after heading up a couple of petroleum consulting companies in Calgary during much of the 1980s, to lead Lasmo Nova Scotia Ltd. in the development and production of the Cohasset-Panuke oilfield.
Oil production from that field was short lived. So in 1995, Miller led a group of associates in founding Corridor Resources, which was created to explore for and produce oil and natural gas in Eastern Canada.
He retired as president and CEO of Corridor in September 2010 but remains a member of the board.
“I could work forever but your genes generally give out on you and we had priorities here, kids and grandkids in Calgary, so that’s why we’re here,” Miller said.
He said he missed much of the excitement around the Shell announcement because he and his wife were on vacation in Africa, which was one of their retirement goals.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/60244-shell-plans-positive-ns
Nova Scotia's exports firing on all cylinders
Production from the Deep Panuke natural gas field should make Nova Scotia the top exporter in the region in 2012, according to a report released Tuesday by Export Development Canada.
All told, the province’s exports are expected to climb by nine per cent next year, compared with seven per cent across Canada, up from an expected four per cent this year.
“Nova Scotia’s exporting community is translating a gloomy economic period into a very impressive growth number,” said Peter Hall, chief economist with Export Development Canada.
The forecast for Nova Scotia is even more impressive considering the lacklustre export performance expected by other provinces in the region in 2012: a six per cent increase in Prince Edward Island; a mere two per cent for Newfoundland and Labrador; and no growth in New Brunswick.
“What Nova Scotia has going for it is that it is firing on all cylinders,” said Hall. “And any time you have diversified growth, it is very good for a province because it means you aren’t as vulnerable to economic shocks.”
Exports of natural gas — in recent years, the province’s most important export — are expected to climb by 22 per cent next year, thanks mainly to production at the Deep Panuke field.
But higher prices for crab, lobster and scallops should push agri-food exports, Nova Scotia’s second most important export industry, to a seven per cent increase next year.
The forestry sector should be another pleasant surprise, said Export Development Canada. The sector declined by three per cent in 2011 due to the shutdown of the NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill.
But Hall said that newsprint shipments are expected to rebound next year due to higher prices. And a nice “snap back” in lumber prices should also occur if the stagnant United States housing market finally restarts.
At the same time, rising economic momentum south of the border is expected to push United States auto sales higher. That should make Michelin Tire’s three provincial plants busier in 2012.
Hall cautions that a major cloud — the European sovereign debt crisis — overhangs all these relatively rosy predictions. But he said “that downside is such a negative situation that everyone is working very hard to avoid it.”
http://mm.thechronicleherald.ca/business/28584-nova-scotias-exports-firing-all-cylinders
Deep Panuke Start Date Changes Again
First gas now coming in March of 2012
EnCana announced a new target date for the Deep Panuke gas field off Nova Scotia Wednesday. The gas has been sold to a Spanish oil and gas company with majority ownership of the liquified natural gas terminal in Saint John. Dave Kopperson, EnCana Corporation's Atlantic vice-president, said Wednesday that the natural gas company had negotiated a new timeline with Single Buoy Moorings (SBM), which EnCana hired to build and operate the production platform at the Deep Panuke gasfield off Nova Scotia. The field is about 250 kilometres southeast of Halifax on the Scotian shelf. EnCana had maintained that first gas from Deep Panuke would flow by the end of the year. But in August SBM said additional work on the platform meant first gas would not be ready until June 2012.
The project has been in the works for 10 years and had been scheduled to start production in December. SBM was unable to meet that deadline. "Until recently we were expecting production would flow from the platform by the end of this year. Then SBM announced it expects the platform to be ready for service in the first half of 2012. Disappointing for sure," said Kopperson. EnCana said it expects gas by the end of March. "But we have been in discussions about the work to be complete and if the plan is executed efficiently, we should be on by the end of [the first quarter of] 2012." The two companies remain engaged in a multi-million-dollar lawsuit over who should pay for design changes and cost overruns on the platform. All the gas from Panuke has been sold to Repsol YPF, a Spanish oil and gas company that has majority ownership of the liquified natural gas terminal in Saint John New Brunswick.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/10/05/ns-encana-sbn-timeline.html
OTC: Nova Scotia Maps Play Fairway To Attract Explorers
May 4, 2011
By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 4 -- Nova Scotia is preparing to make public the results of 2 years of research into the complex geology of the province’s Atlantic shelf and slope in a move to attract explorers to an offshore bid round to be held as early as late 2011.
The soon-to-be-released play fairway analysis is the product of $15 million in extensive geoscience research and may be the first time an effort of such scope has been applied outside an exploration company. The results are to be made available electronically without charge to oil and gas exploration companies, said R.A. MacMullin, director, Nova Scotia Department of Energy.
Beicip-Franlab, Paris, has integrated the inputs of research into plate tectonics, biostratigraphy, geochemistry, seismic reprocessing, salt structural interpretation, and reservoir quality into the finished analysis.
The group is about to publish a digital atlas of montages of maps derived from the various scientific analyses, MacMullin said May 4 at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
Among other things, the research turned up solid evidence of two Jurassic source rocks, he said. The northeastern part of the 500-mile-long study area appears more gas-prone, while the southwestern part seems more oil-prone, he added.
A biostratigraphic project that is one of the 10 special projects in the play fairway analysis was undertaken by the Offshore Energy Technical Research Association, Halifax, said Jennifer Matthews, research manager.
Funds for the analysis came from the Department of Energy and originated as forfeiture payments made a decade ago by companies which, having drilled dry holes, relinquished exploration licenses before they expired. The department launched the play fairway analysis as it sought to explain the early departures and determine what might rekindle interest.
http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/8653396480/articles/oil-gas-journal/exploration-development-2/20100/may-2011/otc_-nova_scotia_maps.html
Study triples N.S. oil, gas estimates
Published Thursday April 28th, 2011
Energy: Province's energy minister says two-year analysis of reserves reveals 'very significant numbers'
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's energy minister says the province's offshore territory contains three times as much oil and gas as previously thought: 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and eight billion barrels of oil.
"Those are very significant numbers," Charlie Parker said Wednesday during a breakfast speech to the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia. "We now see much more petroleum potential in our offshore than we've ever projected before."
Parker says the new oil and gas estimates are the result of a $15-million study launched two years ago. To be released in the coming weeks, the study pooled geological data from industry consultants, local universities, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, the Geological Survey of Canada and the provincial Energy Department.
The analysis was conducted to better understand Nova Scotia's oil and gas holdings, in the hope of luring major oil and gas companies back to Nova Scotia's fading offshore sector.
Exploration of Nova Scotia's offshore began 50 years ago. Since then, the oil and gas sector has pumped billions of dollars into the province, including hundreds of millions directly into government coffers. At times, offshore royalties have been the province's largest source of revenue, behind taxes.
But, as a recent history of Nova Scotia's offshore has shown, the sector has never lived up to the lofty expectations.
"The sector has gone through these crazy cycles of high expectations and ... low returns. It certainly hasn't been the North Sea," said Jim Meek, co-author of Offshore Dream: A History of Nova Scotia's Oil and Gas Industry, in a previous interview. "Generally, we built expectations that haven't been met."
Nova Scotia's offshore has been the scene of three main developments: a small oil project that is no longer in production; the sizeable Sable gas fields, which have been sending natural gas through the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline since 1999; and Encana's Deep Panuke project, which is expected to produce natural gas from the Scotian Shelf sometime in 2011.
Recent developments, however, have raised questions about the future of Nova Scotia's offshore sector. Last July, ExxonMobil said it would not be producing natural gas from additional fields in the Sable project.
The new analysis of Nova Scotia's geological holdings will be used to convince large oil and gas companies of the province's potential. "We're going to promote this and let the world know what we have here," Parker said, noting one-on-one meetings have been arranged with "super major" oil and gas companies in Texas, Alberta and Europe.
"We believe the data will speak for itself." Still, Parker made a conscious effort to not over-hype the new projections. "The last thing we want to do is build expectations ... before we have real successes to point to. Many of you perhaps recall what happened in the 1970s," he said.
On Oct. 5, 1971, a front-page banner headline in the Chronicle Herald newspaper famously screamed "IT'S OIL!"
The accompanying article quoted unnamed sources describing natural gas reserves at a Mobil discovery well as "vast" and "extensive." There was even talk of building a pipeline to the coast, or perhaps a floating island for offshore tankers.
Then-premier Gerald Regan said the discovery "might well be the future prosperity of Nova Scotia."
It was a grand prediction, particularly for a well that has to this day not been part of a commercial project.
"We'd rather point to milestones along the way that are real and tangible," said Parker, noting a call for bids could be launched this fall. Parker's announcement was met by a strong ovation from members of the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia.
"We're very pleased. It shows a lot of positive signs for the industry," said association chairman Joe Fitzharris.
"Hopefully, we can catch some interest from some of the oil companies and keep the industry going for a while longer."
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1401467
Province Extends George's Bank Moratorium
Nova Scotia is introducing legislation today, Nov. 3, extending, indefinitely, a moratorium on oil and gas exploration on the Canadian portion of George's Bank, a sensitive marine eco-system off the south coast of the province.
"It's just not worth the risk to drill in an area this important to Nova Scotians," said Premier Darrell Dexter. "Rather than continue this debate every few years, this legislation will provide certainty about our intentions around George's Bank. Until a compelling case can be made for this decision to be reconsidered, the moratorium will stand."
Earlier this year, the province announced that it would extend the moratorium until Dec. 31, 2015, to allow for more scientific study. The legislation will extend it indefinitely and require a public hearing and a vote in the legislature to lift it.
"George's Bank is clearly different from the rest of our offshore," said Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks. "We need to ensure that industry practices, technology, and other factors have improved to the point where we have full confidence to proceed and we are making the right decision to protect the George's Bank and its valuable resources."
The legislation requires the province to work with the federal government to support this recommendation to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, the independent joint agency responsible for the regulation of petroleum activities in Nova Scotia's offshore.
http://gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=20101103005
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Wed, Nov 10 - 4:53 AM
The drilling platform Rowan Gorilla III is pushed into place on the Dartmouth waterfront last month. (TIM KROCHAK / Staff) AN OIL AND GAS industry lobby group is disappointed with the Dexter government’s decision to permanently ban any offshore exploration on the Canadian side of Georges Bank.
The Offshore-Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia says putting the rich fishing ground off limits to any oil and gas exploration is a "considerable loss of opportunity for the provincial economy."
"In order to do anything out there now, it is going to be harder," Joe Fitzharris, chairman of the Halifax association, said Tuesday.
Georges Bank, about 100 kilometres off Nova Scotia’s southwest coast, is a sensitive marine area teeming with fish, including an abundance of haddock, halibut and scallops. Its vast shallow seas are also home to endangered species of whales and turtles that migrate through its nutrient-rich waters.
The area is also thought to contain large quantities of natural gas. "Under the government’s regulatory framework and industry’s modern technology, we’re confident there could be safe and environmentally sound operations taking place on Georges Bank," Fitzharris said. "The fishery and petroleum industries have co-existed for years, all over the world."
Last week, the Dexter government introduced legislation to indefinitely protect Georges Bank from commercial offshore drilling. Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks said no oil or gas drilling will occur unless science is produced indicating it would be safe.
Fitzharris said the only seismic data available on Georges Bank was conducted in the late 1970s and early ’80s and is outdated. The association will try to ensure that any remaining scientific research is completed to determine the viability of drilling, he said. He said Offshore Energy Environmental Research released an independent report on the potential environmental and economic impact of exploration on Georges Bank indicating that it is feasible. Offshore Energy Environmental Research is a Halifax organization whose members are the provincial Energy Department and Acadia, St. Francis Xavier and Cape Breton universities.
NoRigs, a coalition of fishermen, seafood processors and environmentalists, lobbied the province for a permanent ban on oil and gas development on Georges Bank. A drilling ban has been in place since 1988 and was set to expire in 2012. But the provincial and federal governments, which share jurisdiction over the Canadian side of Georges Bank, agreed in May to extend the ban for another three years to allow time for further study. Earlier this year, U.S. officials said no drilling licences would be considered on the American side of Georges Bank, effectively extending a ban there until 2017.
‘We’re confident there could be safe and environmentally sound operations taking place on Georges Bank. The fishery and petroleum industries have co-existed for years, all over the world’ OTANS chairman JOE FITZHARRIS
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1211150.html
Offshore outlook ‘uncertain’
Dexter looks to wind, tidal projects to make up lost revenue
By JUDY MYRDEN
Thu, Oct 7, 2010
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter is bearish on Nova Scotia's oil and gas sector.
Premier Darrell Dexter delivered a gloomy speech about the future of Nova Scotia’s offshore oil and gas sector in a keynote address Wednesday to industry representatives in Halifax.
Declining production at the Sable natural gas project has meant a huge cut in the amount of money the province collects in royalties and low natural gas prices have kept companies away from exploring, he said.
"This is a challenging time to be in the energy business in Nova Scotia," Dexter told a crowd of about 150 people attending the annual Canadian Offshore Resources Exhibition at the Cunard Centre.
"The past year has brought its share of both disappointments and successes, and the road ahead looks bumpy and uncertain. ExxonMobil’s decision this summer not to expand the Sable offshore gas fields came as "a blow to all of us" and there was "further disappointment" when no major company expressed interest in exploring off the coast of Nova Scotia, he said.
Liberal MLA Andrew Younger called the premier’s speech depressing. "If I was someone who worked in the offshore and relied on that for my employment for the years to come, I would have walked out of there thinking the premier has just told me I’m out of work," said Younger. The premier should have used the opportunity to outline a plan to attract oil and gas companies to explore in this region, he said.
Just this week Rowan Companies Inc. of Houston, Texas, announced it was laying off 85 rig workers in Nova Scotia. The company said it was a cost-cutting measure and would be using local labour in jurisdictions where they work. The Nova Scotia government has pulled in $1.5 billion in royalties since production began at the Sable offshore project in December 1999.
At its peak in 2008-2009, the project generated $452-million in royalties for the province, compared to an estimated $161 million for 2009-2010. The project is expected to have another five years of production. "Royalties have been important to the province over the last number of years and it is simply the case we can longer run our hospitals or schools on royalties, as what happened throughout the last five or six years," Dexter told reporters after his speech. "That puts big a hole in the revenues of the province. We just have to accept and recognize we can’t put more gas in the well. Now the question is, ‘How do we manage that transition?’ "
While Dexter discounted the offshore as a meaningful contributor to the province’s economic future, he said new revenues sources may come from harnessing wind, tidal and other energy sources.
"And they will pay dividends even sooner in terms of increased economic opportunity and the good jobs that come with that across the province," said Dexter.
Atlantic Provinces Economic Council senior policy analyst Fred Bergman said over the next 20 years renewable energy industry may rival the revenues from the oil and gas business. "Renewable energy creates more jobs than oil and gas. It may not generate royalties but it will generate income tax and sales tax as revenue streams for the province. Figuring out the net impact of the two and comparing them is complex," he said.
Joe Fitzharris, the chairman of Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia, called the premier’s speech "gloomy" but realistic. "Based on what’s happened over the summer, it’s not been a great summer for the offshore oil and gas industry," said Fitzharris.
The association, which represents about 300 companies, hosted the two day conference. Fitzharris said it will begin reaching out for new members from the renewable energy sector.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1205682.html
Corridor to start testing in Gulf
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Tue, Oct 5, 2010
Corridor Resources Inc. is expected to begin its seismic program within the next week in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, despite opposition from environmental and community groups concerned about the possible impact on migratory patterns of whales. The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board gave the publicly traded Halifax-based company the final regulatory approvals for the project Monday. Paul Durling, Corridor Resources’ chief geophysicist, said a seismic ship in St. John’s, N.L., will begin the survey in the next few days in waters 70 to 80 kilometres east of Iles-de-la-Madeleine and a similar distance northwest of Port aux Basques, N.L. "This work is a seabed survey to study the seabed (to) determine what the sediment types are down there and to assess whatever hazards might be down there," said Durling on Monday. "It’s more to assess the risk or hazards on the seabed." The geohazard survey will cost about $800,000 and take about six days to complete, he said.
The board’s permit comes with mitigation measures including a gradual start of the seismic airgun array to discourage marine mammals from staying in the immediate area.
Also, Corridor must ensure that the seismic airgun is shut down if a marine mammal or sea turtle listed as endangered or threatened is spotted in the safety zone. Responding to opposition to the program, the board said it is applying an additional level of oversight by requesting a fisheries liaison officer be aboard the vessel during the program to ensure the measures are implemented. The board concludes that with the mitigation measures, "the project is not likely to result in any significant adverse environmental effects."
Mark Butler, of the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, said he worries sound waves from the air guns will travel far and could disrupt the migratory patterns of the whales in the Bay of St. Lawrence. "I can’t say I’m completely surprised, but I just think it is the wrong decision for the environment and the animals of the Gulf," said Butler. "I don’t know if it is the wisest decision for Corridor to go ahead. I think they are putting their investment at risk if they choose to go ahead because there is growing concern and opposition to oil and gas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence." He said the mitigation measures are "better than not having them" but he would prefer a moratorium on any exploration in the area. "While it may make the board feel better or perhaps the seismic company feel better, it doesn’t do a lot for reducing the impact or detecting whales," Butler said.
Corridor Resources obtained an exploration licence for the Old Harry petroleum prospect in 2008. The 30-kilometre-long area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence spanning the border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador is thought to be one of the most promising unexplored offshore areas in Eastern Canada. The geohazard survey would be a precursor to drilling, which Corridor has previously stated it would like to begin in 2012.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1205394.html
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