The Honourable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, today provided the following statement regarding the Bay du Nord Development Project being released from the Government of Canada’s environmental assessment process:
“We are pleased that the Government of Canada has completed its environmental assessment process and that the Bay du Nord project is now approved to move ahead. Our Provincial Government has been tirelessly advocating for this prudent decision from the Federal Government, as the environmental and economic benefits of the Bay du Nord project are clear.
The Bay du Nord project will play a key role in helping the province meet global demand for responsible, lower carbon oil while supporting our government’s commitment to Net Zero by 2050. It is also critical to the Newfoundland and Labrador economy, and will provide significant employment and economic activity.
Our oil and gas industry – with among the lowest GHGs per barrel in the world and our strong environmental, social and governance structure – can be a part of the solution as the world transitions to a lower carbon economy.
Equinor’s strategy is to be a leader in the global energy transition and the company has set an objective to achieve Net Zero carbon by 2050. Bay du Nord will be the most carbon efficient development of its scale in Canada and will be by far the best performer in the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore from an emissions perspective. Emissions from Bay du Nord are estimated to be less than 8 kgs of CO2 per barrel compared to an international average of 16.1 kgs of CO2 per barrel.
Based on most recently reported 2019 emissions statistics, a Bay du Nord development would see a minimum of 80% reduced CO2 intensity (kgCo2e/bbl) as compared to the Canada oil and gas sector average, and would contribute less than 0.1% of Canada’s oil and gas sector emissions and less than 0.03% of Canada’s total emissions.
Including discoveries made in 2020, the total project capital cost for the Bay du Nord development is approximately $16 billion and it is estimated that the development will generate in excess of 16,000 person-years of life-of-field employment in Newfoundland and Labrador and contribute more than $10 billion in royalty and corporate tax income to the province and Canada.
We look forward to working with Equinor in moving forward on the Bay du Nord project as we ensure that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are the primary beneficiaries of our offshore resources.”
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Media contacts
Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960
meghanmccabe@gov.nl.ca
Kelly-Anne Roberts
Industry, Energy and Technology
709-729-5248
Kelly-AnneRoberts@gov.nl.ca