Energy

Newfoundland and Labrador is blessed with rich and diverse natural resources. Few jurisdictions in North America can match the immense value of the province’s vast energy warehouse of oil, gas, hydro, wind and other energy sources.

Three facilities are currently producing oil in the province’s offshore region at the Hibernia, White Rose and Hebron oil developments. In January 2009, the combined projects achieved a major milestone reaching one billion barrels of oil produced. Equinor has announced several oil discoveries in the Flemish Pass Basin. While no assessments have been released on the size of the Harpoon and Bay de Verde discoveries, the Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) estimates that Bay du Nord with Baccalieu, and Mizzen fields contain recoverable oil reserves/resources of 407 and 102 million barrels of oil, respectively. In 2018 the Province and Equinor signed a framework agreement for the development of the Bay du Nord project. Project Sanction had been anticipated in 2022 with First Oil in 2025.  In March 2020, Equinor announced a decision to defer the project due to the pandemic and low oil prices, and is currently developing an adjusted work program with new timelines.

The information and links below present up-to-date information on energy in Newfoundland and Labrador and reflect the province’s 2007 Energy Plan: Focusing Our Energy – a long-term strategic vision for sustainable energy and economic development in the province.

Industry Overview

Newfoundland and Labrador has an abundance of oil, natural gas, hydroelectricity and wind resources, as well as the potential to supply energy from other sources such as uranium, biomass, hydrogen, wave and tidal. This substantial inventory of energy sources makes the province an Energy Warehouse that can meet its own energy needs while providing significant energy for export to other jurisdictions where energy demand also continues to grow.

On a per capita basis, Newfoundland and Labrador is the largest producer of electricity and one of the largest producers of petroleum in the world.

The province’s total developed clean, renewable electrical generation and undeveloped potential is 18,000 Megawatts (MW), while it requires approximately 2,000 MW to meet its own electricity needs. In addition to clean electrical generation, discovered and potential non-renewable oil and gas resources total over eight billion barrels of oil and 70 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. Untapped potential also exists in other energy sources, such as wave and tidal energy, wood, peat, methane captured from landfills and solar energy in some areas.

Three facilities are currently producing oil in the province’s offshore region at the Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose oil developments. In January 2009, the combined projects achieved a major milestone reaching one billion barrels of oil produced. In addition to these projects, the province recently reached agreements for expansion of the original Hibernia and White Rose developments and a new project, Hebron, is progressing with first oil forecast between 2016 and 2018.

The province also continues to see vibrant oil and gas exploration. The prolific Jeanne d’Arc Basin continues to enjoy active exploration programs by existing and new participants in the province’s oil and gas sector. In addition, in recent years, more companies are exploring the deeper waters of the Orphan Basin, Flemish Pass Basin and the Laurentian Basin.

Onshore and offshore western Newfoundland also holds much promise with a number of finds onshore, excellent resource potential offshore and new seismic and drilling programs in both areas.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s Energy Warehouse consists of more than developing and producing renewable and non-renewable resources.

The Come By Chance Refinery is converting to a renewable fuel operation that is owned and operated by Braya Renewable Fuels. The refinery plans to produce renewable diesel fuel and sustainable aviation fuel to help reduce emissions for the heavy road transport and aviation sectors. Strategically positioned on international shipping lanes, giving it access to global fuel markets, the refinery is poised to be a global leader targeting energy decarbonization. There is also a three-million-barrel transshipment terminal that services the offshore petroleum industry. To facilitate the province’s primary and secondary energy projects, and to increase benefits from their development and operation, Newfoundland and Labrador can complete large-scale fabrication projects at a number of facilities throughout the province.

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Petroleum Energy
Electricity and Renewable Energy

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