The Honourable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, today announced the establishment of an oil and gas industry recovery task force. This is in addition to ongoing discussions and work being undertaken to support the offshore oil and gas industry, including the recently announced exploration measures.
Reporting through the existing provincial Oil and Gas Industry Development Council, the task force will focus on immediate actions required to sustain the offshore industry in Newfoundland and Labrador and provide suggestions for how best to utilize the $320 million in funding from the Federal Government to maximize value for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Two members of the Oil and Gas Industry Development Council, Bill Fanning and Karen Winsor, have agreed to co-chair the task force. Their bios are outlined in the backgrounder below. The remaining members, to be selected by the council, will bring a diverse mix of skills and experience so that they can contribute to driving the recovery of the Newfoundland and Labrador oil and gas industry.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil and gas industry represents one of the lowest carbon per barrel footprints in the world and contributed more than $22 billion in royalties (to the end of 2019). It directly employed over six thousand people as well as thousands more in supporting industries (at the end of March 2020).
Quotes
“The situation for the offshore oil and gas industry in this province has reached a crisis point and immediate action is required. Having received clarity from the Federal Government, we are establishing a task force to identify immediate actions for our industry and to offer guidance as to how this province can maximize the Federal Government’s $320 million support and leverage more private investment. The task force will report through the Oil and Gas Industry Development Council and build upon work already undertaken. I look forward to their contribution.”
Honourable Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
“Governments and industry must continue to work together on sustaining the offshore oil and gas industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. The livelihoods of thousands of families throughout our province depend on it.”
Honourable Andrew Parsons
Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology
“I am pleased to co-chair this task force during a challenging time in our industry. We will need to be efficient and precise on how we spend our time including, immediate actions that will sustain our industry in the short-term and a view to the energy transition and renewables.”
Bill Fanning
Co-chair
Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Task Force
“I look forward to this opportunity to work with members of the offshore oil and gas industry to overcome our current challenges, responsibly develop our resources, and reach our full potential.”
Karen Winsor
Co-chair
Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Task Force
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Learn more
News Release: Government and Industry Leaders Unite in Support of Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
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Media contacts
Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960
meghanmccabe@gov.nl.ca
Lisa Lawlor
Industry, Energy and Technology
709-729-5777, 631-8155
lisalawlor@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Biographies of Co-chairs of the Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Task Force
Karen Winsor
Karen Winsor has worked in oil and gas for most of her twenty-year career, focusing on strategic management, business operations, quality and customer delivery. She is currently responsible for the continued success and growth of Atlantic XL here in Canada, and is a part of the management team of XL Global Group in Aberdeen, UK.
Ms. Winsor graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Memorial University, completed a business exchange program in Oslo’s Norwegian School of Management and most recently finished the Directors’ Education Program at the Institute of Corporate Directors. She currently chairs the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industries Association (Noia) Board of Directors, sits on the boards for Atlantic XL, Tampnet Canada, Bull Arm Fabrication and the Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation, and is a member of the Provincial Government’s Oil and Gas Industry Development Council. Ms. Winsor has been recognized for her efforts in the industry as Noia’s 2014 first Rising Star, and profiled in Oil and Gas Magazine’s ‘Up and Coming.’
Bill Fanning
Bill Fanning has over 30 years of international experience in the upstream energy industry. Born in Middleton, Nova Scotia, Mr. Fanning attended the University of Prince Edward Island and University of Calgary, has a degree in business management and attended Concordia University’s Executive Development Program.
From 1980-1999, Mr. Fanning held increasingly senior positions with Mobil Oil Canada Ltd. in Calgary, Halifax and later the Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. in St. John’s. From 1999 to 2009, Mr. Fanning was the President and CEO of Spectrol Group, a provider of Asset Integrity services to the upstream oil and gas industry. During that period, Mr. Fanning also co-founded Atlantic XL Inc., a technology services provider in telecommunications, process control and safety systems. Since 2012, Bill has led Kvaerner’s business interests in Canada.
Mr. Fanning was on the Newfoundland Oil and Gas Industries Association (Noia) Board of Directors from 2006 to 2008 and again from 2013 to 2016 and is a founding member of the Provincial Government’s Oil and Gas Industry Development Council. Mr. Fanning is the former board chair, Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information, past president, St. John’s Boys and Girls Club and is a founding member of the Newfoundland and Labrador CEO Safety Charter. He was twice named a top 50 CEO in Atlantic Canada.