Archives

Home   >   Archives   

Multi-billion dollar oil and gas boom on Newfoundland’s horizon

Rig Lynx
  • By Rig Lynx
  • Jan 09, 2020
  • Category : Archives
  • Views : 748

It’s a recipe for an oil and gas bonanza. 

Start with the staggering 52 billion barrels of oil and 200 trillion cubic feet of gas estimated under the seafloor. 

Add a dozen of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, up to a hundred exploratory wells over the coming decade and the potential for jobs galore.  

The result is a nearly $4-billion race to find the next big energy project off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. 

In a province struggling with a declining population and massive public debt, the offshore potential of Canada’s easternmost province could kickstart a fiscal revolution.  

Yet with mounting concerns over climate change and calls to leave fossil fuels in the ground, the development of Newfoundland’s energy sector is contentious.  

For some, plans to increase hydrocarbon production even as scientists sound the alarm over global warming, sea level rise and extreme weather events is indefensible.  

“We’ve known for years that we need a managed decline of fossil fuel production in order to remain below 1.5 C of warming and avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” said Jordy Thomson, marine science and conservation co-ordinator with the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax.

“We need a just transition to a green economy for workers, and plans to extract large oil and gas reserves in Atlantic Canada’s offshore will make our collective problems worse.”

Yet others point to rising global demand for oil and gas. They argue that continued development — with the appropriate environmental protections in place — can be part of a sustainable transition to a cleaner economy.  

“The reality is worldwide demand for oil is still expected to increase for the next two decades and then taper off,” Paul Barnes with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said in an interview from St. John’s. 

“It won’t go down to zero right away.” 

Despite the controversy, plans to develop Newfoundland’s offshore continue unabated.  

Oil and gas companies are expected to launch 10 exploration programs over the coming years. Several exploratory wells will be drilled this year, with up to a 100 expected over the decade. 

The frenzy is likely to see some Newfoundland workers, long accustomed to travelling to other provinces for work, have their pick of jobs closer to home.  

Up to 7,500 people could be directly employed in the offshore by 2030, according to a 2018 provincial government report. Rosier projections that include supply and service sector spin-off jobs peg the potential for jobs even higher. 

The province is attracting the giants of the energy industry. By 2021, ExxonMobil Canada, Chevron Canada, Equinor Canada and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) have committed to spending $1.7 billion. 

By 2022, BP Canada, Navitas Petroleum, CNOOC and Husky Energy have committed to spending $763 million, and by 2024, BHP Canada, Equinor and Suncor Energy plan to spend about $1.4 billion on exploration.  

But Barnes cautions that until a large discovery is made, it’s unclear what the offshore industry will look like in a decade. 

“There’s quite a bit of excitement and activity in Newfoundland’s offshore,” Barnes said. “But you’ve got to discover something. This is all money to be spent exploring.” 

About one and 10 exploration wells worldwide hits an oil field that’s big enough to make production worthwhile.  

But the odds are better in Newfoundland. About one in seven exploratory wells have been successful, Barnes said.

Newfoundland has had a succesful offshore for years, with four producing oil fields: Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose and Hebron. 

Yet the search for the next big oil project has led companies increasingly further from shore into deeper, colder waters. 

Much of Newfoundland’s offshore success has been in the Jeanne D’Arc Basin. But new exploration plans are aimed further east at the Flemish Pass Basin. 

“Over the next several years we’re expecting to see a flurry of activity there,” Barnes said, adding that the big oil and gas players planning to explore the deeper waters have experience around the world in similar conditions.  

Newfoundland’s natural resources minister said the province is encouraging exploration to ensure the continued development of its resources.   

“We will continue to position the province as an internationally preferred location for oil and gas exploration and development — one that values safety and environmental responsibility and maximizes benefits to the people of the province,” Siobhan Coady said in a statement.  

Source: The Telegram

Check out our other current stories!

Join the largest oil and gas community on iOS and Android!

Download the app here!

Comments (0)

Leave Comment


Check out our other stories

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Valaris Limited announced new contracts awarded subsequent to issuing the Company’s most recent fleet status report on February 21, 2023.   Three-year contract with Petrobras for drillship VALARIS DS-8. The rig will be reactivated for this contract. The total contract value is approximately $500 million, including a $30 million mobilization fee. 100-day contract with a TotalEnergies affiliate for drillship VALARIS DS-12. The contract is expected to commence in second quarter 2023. 70-day contract with Beach Energy offshore New Zealand for heavy duty modern jackup VALARIS 107. The contract is expected to commence in third quarter 2023. The total contract value is approximately $26 million. President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said, “We are particularly pleased to have secured the award for preservation stacked drillship VALARIS DS-8, for a contract that is expected to generate a meaningful return over the firm contract term, and we remain focused on exercising our operational leverage in a disciplined manner. This most recent award represents the sixth contract awarded to one of our high-quality stacked floaters since mid-2021, and speaks volumes about our demonstrated track record of project execution when reactivating rigs.”   Dibowitz added, “Following the reactivation of VALARIS DS-17 and DS-8, we will have ten floaters working across the golden triangle, including four drillships in Brazil, a market where we expect to see continued growth over the next several years.”   Updated Guidance   As a result of the contract awarded to VALARIS DS-8, which will require the rig to be reactivated from preservation stack, we are updating our first quarter 2023 and full-year 2023 guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call on February 21, 2023.   First Quarter 2023   Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $5 million to $385 million to $395 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $5 million to negative $5 million to breakeven. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $25 million to $30 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Full-Year 2023   Revenues are anticipated to be $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $60 million to $1.49 billion to $1.59 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $60 million to $180 million to $220 million. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $280 million to $320 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Capital expenditures are expected to increase by $60 million to $320 million to $360 million. Source: Valaris Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here  

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Seadrill Limited announced that the West Neptune has executed approximately six months of term extensions with LLOG Exploration Offshore, L.L.C in the US Gulf of Mexico.   The extensions will commence in direct continuation of the existing term, and will keep the rig busy until Q3 2024, furthering Seadrill and LLOG’s long-term association. Total contract value for the extension is approximately $79 million. Source: Seadrill   Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here  

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has inked a new contract with Peak Petroleum in Nigeria for its 1974-built Blackford Dolphin.   The firm contract, which follows the letter of award in January, gives the Euronext Growth-listed owner of three rigs the potential to extend the unit’s backlog by a minimum of 120 days and up to 485 days. The deal adds to and will be a direct continuation of the previously announced 12-month contract with General Hydrocarbon Limited (GHL).   Øystein Stray Spetalen-backed company said the effective dayrate associated with the minimum firm period of the contract is $325,000, including the mobilisation fee.   “The final award of the contract for Blackford Dolphin shows the opportunities in Nigeria at a strong dayrate, in addition to building on the backlog for the rig. It also underlines the attractiveness of our assets, and we look forward to returning to revenue-generating operations in 2023,” noted Bjørnar Iversen, CEO of Dolphin Drilling.   Source: Dolphin   Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here