Judy Maksoud
International Editor

HOUSTON -- Alison Scott, Deputy Minister of Energy of Nova Scotia told reporters at the Offshore Technology Conference that the province's geology holds promise, but that drilling has not fully tested the region. The province's offshore stretches over 1,000 km, the Deputy Minister said, but only 124 wells have been drilled.

"We don't have enough companies actively exploring to draw attention to our potential, Scott said.

The Deputy Minister explained that the province has made regulatory changes that improve the working environment for operators as a first step toward making Nova Scotia attractive to E&P companies. Scott believes that the geology will prove attractive on its own once operators increase drilling.

"Our own internal geoscience research and analysis tells us that the conventional wisdom on our offshore, particularly the deepwater, may have missed the real plays," Scott said. "We can see in our analysis the same geologic features that are present in other productive basins."

Additional seismic activity will encourage investment, Scott said, but there are still some challenges. "We understand that drilling is not cheap in the harsh environment off Nova Scotia," she said.

Despite the hurdles, Scott is optimistic. "We intend to live up to our geological promise," she said.

5/1/2007