The on-again off-again Bay du Nord project offshore Newfoundland is off again after Norway’s state oil company Equinor decided to delay the project for three more years..This, despite the fact it received federal environmental approval last year..The company made the announcement at a trade and industry conference in St. John’s on Wednesday, citing rising costs and volatile market conditions. It said it would re-examine the project to find ways of lowering those costs and streamline operations.. Bay du NordBay du Nord is to be Canada’s deepest offshore oilfield. .“Within the context of the changing market with increased cost, we will now look at the project again to see if we can do further optimizations to our concept and strategies,” said Trond Bokn, Equinor's senior vice president for project development..The $16-billion project was to begin producing 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2025, opening Canada’s fifth offshore oilfield and the first in the ultra-deep waters of the Flemish Pass, about 500-km east of St. John’s. . Feds to approve massive offshore drilling in the eastCourtesy of Equinor .It’s unique in that it uses a floating production, storage and offloading vessel rather than a stand-alone platform. With estimated reserves of 979 million barrels, it was expected to create 16,000 jobs and inject about $10 billion in royalty revenue for the Newfoundland government..The field was first discovered in 2013. The project was put on hold due to COVID but was rekindled following additional discoveries in the area..Tore Loseth, the company’s Canadian country manager, said the company remains committed to Canada and is encouraged by the strong support from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The company plans to continue exploration drilling around the field this summer and could drill two additional prospects. .It’s not the first project the company has delayed in recent months. Last November it pushed back the deepwater Wisting field off the Norwegian coast by four years after costs rose more than 60%.
The on-again off-again Bay du Nord project offshore Newfoundland is off again after Norway’s state oil company Equinor decided to delay the project for three more years..This, despite the fact it received federal environmental approval last year..The company made the announcement at a trade and industry conference in St. John’s on Wednesday, citing rising costs and volatile market conditions. It said it would re-examine the project to find ways of lowering those costs and streamline operations.. Bay du NordBay du Nord is to be Canada’s deepest offshore oilfield. .“Within the context of the changing market with increased cost, we will now look at the project again to see if we can do further optimizations to our concept and strategies,” said Trond Bokn, Equinor's senior vice president for project development..The $16-billion project was to begin producing 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2025, opening Canada’s fifth offshore oilfield and the first in the ultra-deep waters of the Flemish Pass, about 500-km east of St. John’s. . Feds to approve massive offshore drilling in the eastCourtesy of Equinor .It’s unique in that it uses a floating production, storage and offloading vessel rather than a stand-alone platform. With estimated reserves of 979 million barrels, it was expected to create 16,000 jobs and inject about $10 billion in royalty revenue for the Newfoundland government..The field was first discovered in 2013. The project was put on hold due to COVID but was rekindled following additional discoveries in the area..Tore Loseth, the company’s Canadian country manager, said the company remains committed to Canada and is encouraged by the strong support from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The company plans to continue exploration drilling around the field this summer and could drill two additional prospects. .It’s not the first project the company has delayed in recent months. Last November it pushed back the deepwater Wisting field off the Norwegian coast by four years after costs rose more than 60%.
