This text is taken from the Courrier de la Planète of June 21. Click here to subscribe.
The oil company Equinor plans to carry out an exploration program this summer which could lead to the discovery of more oil to be exploited in the marine environment, within the framework of the Bay du Nord project. However, this possibility should not result in any changes with respect to the environmental assessment, since it was not based on the quantity of oil that will be exploited over the next few decades.
According to what Equinor has confirmed to To have to, an “exploration program” is planned for this summer in the maritime area where it already plans to drill at least 60 oil exploitation wells.
As part of the search for black gold, which will take place while several species of marine mammals are present in the area, the oil company could use seismic surveys, a technology that would also be required for exploitation.
The company, however, did not give details of the planned operations. We are also cautious about the possibility of finding oil. “We are never certain of finding more oil when we drill exploration wells. There is always uncertainty in exploration activities, and unfortunately most exploration wells are dry,” Equinor argued in a written response.
Just over two months after receiving the green light from the Trudeau government for the Bay du Nord project, located 470 kilometers east of the coast of Newfoundland, Equinor argued that the project would exploit not 300 million barrels, but at least 500 million barrels. The work planned for this summer could therefore further increase this extraction potential.
Additional wells
This change in the quantity of oil exploited has no consequence on the conclusions of the assessment of the project, specifies the Agency of impact assessment of Canada (AEIC). This “was based on project location, number of years, components and activities (including equipment, number of project vessels and drilling units, etc.), not on the amount of oil the project was expected to produce”.
“The proponent’s environmental impact statement did not provide an estimate of the amount of oil that would be produced during the life of the project,” adds AEIC. However, the federal agency assures that “the possibility of additional wells and connections to the production facility (future development) has been taken into account”.
As for the risks of an oil spill at sea, the AEIC report considers these to be minimal. The document also mentions that in the event of an oil “eruption” out of control, a “capping system” may have to be installed at the head of the operating well. But the deployment of this system would take “18 to 36 days”, since this equipment must be transported from Norway or Brazil. Canada does not require Equinor to have such a system in Canada.