Suncor wants to drill up to 16 offshore oil exploration wells in the Grand Banks area of Newfoundland, “a highly productive ecosystem” essential for several endangered species, according to the company.
The federal government is currently carrying out an environmental assessment of the project, which is the largest since that which led to the discovery of the Bay du Nord deposit.
First filed in 2019, the Tilt Cove project plans to complete 12 to 16 exploratory wells by the end of the decade off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in the Atlantic Ocean. By way of comparison, the oil potential of Bay du Nord was determined after 13 drillings.
Suncor’s project is currently subject to an online “public consultation” on the impact study submitted by the proponent. The process ends on Wednesday.
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland is an extremely rich region in terms of biodiversity and productivity, hence the importance of this region for several species of fish, birds and marine mammals.
Already very active in the exploitation of the oil sands, the company obtained the exploration permit for the areas where the wells would be drilled following a call for tenders in the context of which it made a commitment to invest several tens of millions of dollars in future work over the next few years.
Each drilling could last up to 120 days, in a region which is “among the exploration zones where the environmental conditions are among the most hostile and most variable in the world”, can we read in the documents produced by the business. “There is a potential period of up to five years where an exploration well blowout or spill could occur,” under the upcoming project. But this risk is very low, according to the oil company.
In the responses provided to Duty, Suncor is careful not to advance on the potential discovery of an oil field that it could exploit. “In the event that hydrocarbons are discovered during an exploratory drilling program, the wells will be evaluated and tested to determine their commercial potential”, specifies only the impact study.
For biologist Sylvain Archambault, a specialist in this type of project for the Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec, it is clear that the targeted sector could harbor interesting potential. The drilling is indeed planned in a region where there are already operating sites, including the Hibernia and Hebron platforms, but also the White Rose project. “Suncor will drill close to these large platforms, about 30 kilometers away. We are therefore very close to sites where there is a lot of oil. »
Biodiversity
The summary of the impact study also shows that the Suncor project, which must receive the green light from the Trudeau government to go ahead, is located in an area of great marine biodiversity: the Grand Banks -New.
By the oil company’s own admission, this area is “a very productive ecosystem” that includes “important feeding and spawning grounds for fish, marine mammals and seabirds. Many species migrate to this area precisely to feed before returning to their spawning grounds”.
The study notably mentions the potential presence of 26 species of cetaceans in this maritime region. Moreover, “the presence of several fish species designated as endangered or of conservation concern is known or probable” in the “local assessment area”, specifies the summary of the impact statement.
In this context, the “underwater noise” attributable to drilling, but also to possible “geophysical surveys”, could have repercussions on the “quality of the habitat”.
Professor of modeling and aquatic ecology at the University of Quebec in Outaouais, Katrine Turgeon deplores the possibility of such a project being carried out. “The Grand Banks of Newfoundland is an extremely rich region in terms of biodiversity and productivity, hence the importance of this region for several species of fish, birds and marine mammals. However, noise pollution has impacts for several species, according to the available scientific data. »
According to her, Canada must turn its back on new drilling in the marine environment if it wants to respect the commitments made at the UN conference on biodiversity in Montreal (COP15). “This is not consistent with the commitments made at COP15 and the biodiversity protection objectives. I don’t understand why this kind of project can still go ahead. It is a region that we must protect. »
Can this kind of project be compatible with the fight against the climate crisis? “It’s a potential project that will undergo an environmental assessment, a process [en lequel] we trust. Our emission reduction targets remain the same,” replies the office of the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault.
In a speech to an audience of energy industry officials on May 31, Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan touted the shortening of the timeframes in which exploration projects are assessed and approval of the Bay du Nord project. “Don’t tell me the green economy excludes oil and gas. A sustainable future requires an energy mix,” he stressed.
At a time when voices are rising to demand an international commitment in favor of an exit from fossil fuels at the next UN climate conference (COP28), Newfoundland and Labrador hopes to double its oil production by marine environment after 2030. It would then reach 650,000 barrels per day, i.e. a potential of more than 237 million barrels per year. To achieve this, we would like at least 100 exploratory drilling to be carried out by the end of the decade.