St. John’s, NL – This afternoon, the Provincial Government announced that Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2016 independent resource assessment covering the area of the West Orphan Basin has identified 25.5 billion barrels of oil and 20.6 trillion cubic feet of gas potential.
The 2016 independent oil and gas resource assessment is based on new data covering nine parcels on offer in the West Orphan Basin within the area of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board’s 2016 Eastern Newfoundland Region Call for Bids which closes in November 2016.
“The news announced by the Provincial Government today is extremely important for our province and indeed our country. Newfoundland and Labrador’s deep water basins hold significant potential for future growth in oil & gas exploration, development and production,” said Raymond Collins, Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil & Gas Industries Association (Noia). “This newly identified trend in a frontier area holds the potential for massive, new discoveries. Even in a time of lower oil prices, this could greatly influence the economy of this province, and the country.”
Mr. Collins also noted the importance of Nalcor’s ongoing geoscience program and its importance to developing a long-term, sustainable industry.
“Noia has always been extremely supportive of Nalcor’s world-class seismic and exploration work. Nalcor’s rigorous seismic program is working to reduce risk and is succeeding in increasing Newfoundland and Labrador’s global competitiveness to attract exploration investment. We look forward to seeing the results of this work in the upcoming 2016 land sale later this fall.”
Given the importance of these findings on a global basis, Noia is calling for government to move quickly so the right approach is being taken to ensure the long-term success of the industry.
“It is critical for government to bring all stakeholders together to develop a long-term approach to the growth and development of the local oil & gas industry in order to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by confirmation of our offshore’s incredible prospectively,” added Mr. Collins. “As noted in Noia’s Redefining Oil framework, the first step to this is the establishment of an Industry Council to formulate the vision and strategy. Noia is looking forward to playing a key role in this Council and hopes to see it in place in the near future.”
For more information on the resource assessment, visit http://nalcorenergy.com/OILGAS/our-strategy.asp
