At the heart of a summer marked by multiple extreme climatic events, the oil company ExxonMobil has just obtained the green light from the federal government and that of Newfoundland and Labrador to drill a new exploration well in the marine environment, in a region where production is concentrated off the east coast. The company has pledged to invest $165 million in oil exploration.
The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-TNLOHE) has granted the last necessary authorizations to ExxonMobil to begin this exploratory campaign more than 300 kilometers from the coast.
This drilling will be carried out in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, a vast area located on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland “where[nt] oil exploitation in the marine environment” and other exploration permits, says biologist Sylvain Archambault, of the Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec.
Everything indicates that ExxonMobil believes in the potential of discovering an oil field, since it has made a commitment to invest 165 million dollars in exploration work, in particular for the rental of a drilling platform. who arrived in Canada at the beginning of July.
Part of the investments of the multinational fossil fuels will be reimbursed by the provincial government, which hopes that the industry will continue its efforts to find hydrocarbons, with the aim of doubling oil production in the marine environment after 2030. It would then reach 650,000 barrels per day, or more than 200 million barrels per year.
The aims of Newfoundland and Labrador have, however, faced setbacks in recent months, recalls Mr. Archambault. In May, Equinor announced that it was giving itself three years to decide on the next steps for its Bay du Nord project, which could produce nearly a billion barrels over the next few decades. The Trudeau government has already given the green light to the mining project.
In June, BP decided to halt the drilling of the first authorized exploration well in a “marine refuge” on Canada’s east coast. This project had been denounced by environmental groups, worried about seeing the industry gaining access to an area supposed to protect biodiversity.
During this time, underlines Sylvain Archambault, the production of the existing oil platforms “is in decline”. Hence the clear desire of the Newfoundland government to launch new exploration projects in order to stimulate this important industry for the provincial economy.
Tenders
The Trudeau government and that of Newfoundland and Labrador also granted earlier this year 12,227 km2 new oil exploration permits in a region recognized for the richness and fragility of its ecosystems.
To obtain them, the four companies involved made exploration investment commitments totaling $238 million. ExxonMobil Canada and its partner have notably promised to inject $181 million in fossil fuel research work on a “plot” of 2676 km2.
Another call for tenders was also launched this spring for an area of more than 120,000 km2 new exploration permits.
If all the permits find takers, this would represent a very significant leap in the area of open marine environments in search of new oil deposits. We currently have a little less than 50,000 km2 permits off the Canadian coast.
The C-TNLOHE Board also indicates that the area where the auction licenses are located includes “important areas” for commercial fisheries. A total of 14 permits also “overlap” 22,757 km2 of the largest marine biodiversity protection area in eastern Canada, called the Newfoundland Northeast Slope Closure. This “marine refuge” was established in 2019 to help meet the federal government’s marine environment protection target.
According to the federal government, it is “an ecologically and biologically significant area that supports great diversity, including several declining species”. Any fishing activity “coming into contact with the bottom” is prohibited there, but the door is not closed for oil and gas drilling.
At least four more tenders are planned by 2029 in different marine areas off Newfoundland and Labrador.
However, the International Energy Agency and several scientists who specialize in climate issues assert that the door must be closed to new exploration and exploitation projects for fossil fuels in order to hope to limit global warming to a viable threshold, a commitment at the heart of the Paris Agreement.