This text is taken from Courrier de la planete. Click here to subscribe.
Has the search for new oil and gas deposits in the marine environment entered a phase of decline in Canada? The question could arise in light of recent setbacks for proponents of industry expansion, which could give way to growing interest in developing wind energy projects.
Early last month, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board announced that a bid had been successful following the call for tenders launched a year earlier in an attempt to restart exploration oil and gas off the coast of the province.
A total of eight permits were put up for auction, but only one company, Inceptio Limited, ultimately promised to invest $1.5 million in exploratory work to get its hands on a 1,200 km permit.2. This permit is located at the limits of a marine protected zone, called the “Gully zone”, established in 2004 to protect several species of cetaceans.
However, this permit has not yet been granted. The federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, has in fact suspended the “major decision” concerning this permit for 60 days. “I would like to have more time to carefully examine all the available information regarding the possible issuance of this exploration permit,” he said in a statement sent to the Duty. And even if the permit is granted, “a federal impact assessment” will be necessary before any work.
Offshore wind
The minister adds that, “to achieve our shared climate and energy policy goals,” he is working with the Government of Nova Scotia on transforming the offshore energy regulatory regime “by expanding the mandate of the boards to to establish a framework for offshore wind energy.
It must be said that there is growing interest in the development of offshore wind projects in eastern Canada. In Nova Scotia, a first project of 20 to 25 wind turbines will be completed by 2030, according to information made public last summer. And permits located in waters under provincial jurisdiction are expected to be auctioned next year for companies wishing to exploit wind potential.
In addition to developing a regulatory framework with this province, the Trudeau government is currently working with that of Newfoundland and Labrador on a “regional assessment” of the marine wind sector. Here too, the potential for energy production from strong winds from the North Atlantic is attracting growing interest.
Conversely, the most recent call for tenders for 47 oil and gas exploration permits in the marine environment, off the coast of the province, 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, had not aroused interest.
Oil failures
For biologist Sylvain Archambault, of the Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec, these recent setbacks for supporters of the oil and gas industry could well be the prelude to a shift towards the development of renewable energies in the marine environment, to the detriment new expensive drilling projects.
He points out that, despite Newfoundland and Labrador’s desire to double oil production after 2030, the year 2023 was marked by major failures. The oil company BP notably failed to find oil during authorized drilling in a “marine refuge” on the coast supposed to protect biodiversity.
ExxonMobil also failed in a drilling located 300 kilometers from the coast, while Equinor put its Bay du Nord mining megaproject on hold, recalls Mr. Archambault. And since any new exploration project would take years of work before leading to commercial exploitation, the tide may be turning in the east of the country for the fossil fuel industry, whose production threatens the global climate.
This does not mean, however, that global demand for black gold is declining, quite the contrary. According to data released Tuesday by the International Energy Agency, it increased by 2.4 million barrels per day in 2023, reaching 102 million barrels consumed daily. And demand is expected to increase in 2024.