(St. John’s, NL, May 31, 2023) In response to the announcement of Equinor Canada regarding the Bay du Nord project, Charlene Johnson offered the following remarks this afternoon at the Energy NL Conference & Exhibition 2023.
“Good afternoon. Before we begin, I wanted to take a few minutes of your time to address the announcement in our industry today.
As most of you are likely aware by now, we have received the extremely disappointing news that Equinor has decided to delay the Bay du Nord project for “up to three years.”
Clearly, this is extremely disappointing news for everyone in this room, our entire industry, and our province.
I have spoken with Tore Loseth of Equinor and expressed our disappointment and concerns and he will speak here tomorrow.
We have seen much market volatility in recent years, in our industry, and wider economy.
As we all know, this project has seen numerous delays in the past number of years, and this is just another bump in the road to what we still feel will be a successful project.
We have seen this before, and come through the other side. We will do so again.
Our members will continue to prepare and show, as a sector, that we are ready to play a leading role in one of the world’s lowest carbon energy projects.
Energy NL will remain in contact with Equinor in the coming weeks.
As you have seen this week, there are so many reasons for optimism in our industry – from our current offshore projects to exploration programs, and renewable energy developments – and despite this news, we will continue to remain optimistic, both for our industry and for the Bay du Nord project.
Let’s continue to showcase who we are, what we can do, and how successful we can be.”
Energy NL represents approximately 500 member organizations worldwide which are involved in the energy sector. Members are active in all areas of the supply and service sector and include a diverse representation of businesses that range from offshore supply vessels and helicopters, carbon reduction and sustainable technologies, health and safety equipment and training, engineering solutions and fabricators to law firms and human resource agencies.
