Offshore staff
(Canada) - The province plans to invest $6.4 million in R&D to attract E&P investment in offshore Nova Scotia.
"It's important that we set our own research priorities and it's important that we make the results of this research public," says Energy Minister Bill Dooks.
"We know that our offshore is a frontier, that we have great potential, but that research around our geology and tidal power is relatively new.
"By doing more research, we believe we can build better understanding and attract new companies to do business here."
Two non-profit research associations have been established: Offshore Energy Technical Research, which will encourage offshore petroleum geology research, while Offshore Energy and Environmental Research will sponsor environmental studies, including the effects of energy exploration on the marine environment.
"Nova Scotia competes on a global level to attract exploration dollars," says Barry Clouter, chair of the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia.
"The better these exploration companies understand the region's geology, the more likely they are to come and spend those dollars here in our province."
These two associations has each been given $2.6 million in initial funding from the province, for a total of $5.2 million.
The province previously announced $1 million in funding for the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board's core lab.
An additional $175,000 will go to a Dalhousie University lab that studies petroleum geology.
05/02/06
