The Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board has just auctioned off more than 100,000 km2 of oil exploration permits off the coast of the province. Several of these encroach on the most important “marine refuge” in eastern Canada, established to protect marine biodiversity.
According to information released on Monday, 41 areas will be auctioned by November, of which 32 have already been auctioned in the past or have already been controlled by companies before being handed over to the body that manages their allocation.
To get your hands on exploration permits, the “only criterion” will be the amount that the bidding company undertakes to invest in exploration work over the coming years. The minimum amount is $10 million per area offered for auction.
With this new gesture in favor of the discovery of oil deposits in the marine environment, the Office hopes to relaunch the development of exploration projects after having suffered setbacks in 2023.
A call for tenders for 47 oil and gas exploration permits in the marine environment, off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, has in fact remained unanswered. The organization that manages the granting of permits with the federal government recently announced that permits covering some 120,000 km2some of which would have encroached on the most important “marine refuge” in eastern Canada, called “Northeast Newfoundland Slope Closure”, had not aroused interest.
What’s more, the oil company BP failed to find oil during authorized drilling in this “refuge” set up in 2019. ExxonMobil also failed in a drilling located 300 kilometers from the coast, while Equinor put its Bay du Nord mining megaproject on hold.
Newfoundland and Labrador hopes to double oil production after 2030. This would then reach 650,000 barrels per day, or a potential of more than 237 million barrels per year. In this context, the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board has already planned at least three other calls for tenders by 2029. In support of the province’s objectives, the Trudeau government wishes to “transform the Canada as the world’s cleanest oil and gas producer.
Despite repeated calls from scientists for a reduction in our dependence on fossil fuels that fuel the climate crisis, global demand for black gold is not decreasing, quite the contrary. According to data from the International Energy Agency, it currently exceeds 102 million barrels consumed daily. And demand is expected to increase this year and in 2025.