East Coast Canadian production reported
Offshore staff
(ST. JOHN'S, Nfld.)-The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) reported that Newfoundland's offshore accounted for just over 12% of total Canadian oil production and 37% of light crude production in 2004-2005, despite a shutdown caused by a major oil spill.
The East Coast produced 114.8 MMbbl of light crude oil in 2004-2005, a nearly 7% decrease from the year prior and due mainly to a 24-day shutdown at the Terra Nova platform following the oil spill last November. Production numbers through the end of the year will increase dramatically with Husky's White Rose offshore development coming on stream in November.
"Once White Rose comes on stream, when it comes to Canada's light, sweet crude, it really positions the province for the future," said provincial Natural Resources Minister Ed Byrne. White Rose is expected to add up to 92,000 b/d of light crude to East Coast production.
With the price of oil over $60/bbl, there is significant interest by a number of E&P companies to develop projects offshore Newfoundland. While the three current offshore projects are located in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin, seismic work is underway in the Laurentian Sub-basin and the Orphan Basin. Paul Barnes, East Coast spokesman for CAPP commented, "We would certainly like to see more of them and we hope to see more of them in the next two or three years as the companies position themselves to heavily explore the Orphan Basin and the Laurentian Basin."
The list of companies investing in Newfoundland is growing. BHP Billiton and Shell Canada joined the list recently, with BHP farming into Conoco's activity in the Laurentian Sub-basin and Shell buying acreage in the Grand Banks. Chevron and partners ExxonMobil, Petro-Canada and Norsk Hydro have renewed talks to develop an area in the Hebron-Ben Nevis field, which is considered the next big potential offshore development for the province. They have rented office space in St. John's and have had informal negotiations with the province on a benefits agreement.
9/20/05