[q12]

Shell to spend $1B on N.S.'s offshore oil and gas

CBC News Posted: Jan 20, 2012 10:13 AM AT
Last Updated: Jan 20, 2012 10:12 AM AT

Shell Canada will spend almost $1 billion exploring Nova Scotia's offshore oil and gas deposits over the next six years.

Read more here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/01/20/ns-shell-explores-oil-gas.html

BIG NEWS! That's 1 Billion with a B. Offshore exploration is back in business in Nova Scotia.

[Haliguy]

Great news!!!

[fenwick16]

This is very good news. With so much gas off the Nova Scotian shore it seems probable there there are major oil fields also.

[resetcbu1]

If this really pans out along with ship building and an already diverse and rather strong ecconomy things seem t be heading the right diretion and could soon all fall into place for lil' old Scotia:tup:

I wonder how much credit Dexter is willing t take for all this?

[Jstaleness]

I believe Shell is also entertaining the idea of more future office space here in Halifax as well. I wonder how much they would require? It might be enough to relieve the hit we took with Emera moving down to the Piers.

[fenwick16]

I believe Shell is also entertaining the idea of more future office space here in Halifax as well. I wonder how much they would require? It might be enough to relieve the hit we took with Emera moving down to the Piers.

Maybe they will rent space in the Waterside project? However, it won't be ready for another couple of years.

[spaustin]

I wonder how much credit Dexter is willing t take for all this?

He can't take all the credit, but the province has played a key role in reviving the offshore. The oil industry had basically given up in the late 90s after other wells after Sable kept coming up dry. So the province and other partners undertook their own "Fairways Analysis" of the geology to identify where there is likely to be oil. The analysis is basically the upfront work that oil companies do when they're figuring out where to look for oil. The Analysis was provided to everyone and is part of why we now have Shell spending a billion on exploration. It seems like one of those moments where government has played a very positive role. If Shell finds a developable find out there, the effort will have been well worth it!

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/54163-comprehensive-offshore-analysis-draws-industry-praise

[resetcbu1]

If Shell finds a developable find out there, the effort will have been well worth it!
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/54163-comprehensive-offshore-analysis-draws-industry-praise

Most definetly !

I am suprised at the NDP involvment in this type of business though , I find them to be a little too ecco sensitive most of the time and had they been opposition I think they would have been against it.... Just my opinion though.

[fenwick16]

deleted post

[Haliguy]

He can't take all the credit, but the province has played a key role in reviving the offshore. The oil industry had basically given up in the late 90s after other wells after Sable kept coming up dry. So the province and other partners undertook their own "Fairways Analysis" of the geology to identify where there is likely to be oil. The analysis is basically the upfront work that oil companies do when they're figuring out where to look for oil. The Analysis was provided to everyone and is part of why we now have Shell spending a billion on exploration. It seems like one of those moments where government has played a very positive role. If Shell finds a developable find out there, the effort will have been well worth it!

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/54163-comprehensive-offshore-analysis-draws-industry-praise

A lot of credit is due to the previous PC government who put 15 million into reserch to find out how much oil and gas is out there. Oil companies are taking notice.

[fenwick16]

A lot of credit is due to the previous PC government who put 15 million into reserch to find out how much oil and gas is out there. Oil companies are taking notice.

Thanks for the clarification. The $15 million dollar Play_Fairway_Analysis study was initiated by the Tories in May 2009 before the NDP was voted into office:
"The Play Fairway Program was initiated in May 2009 with a workshop attended by leading academic thinkers from Canada, Europe and Morocco." (source - http://www.offshoreenergyresearch.ca/OETR/OETRPlayFairwayProgramMainPage/tabid/402/Default.aspx). But much of the credit should go to all the scientists involved in the study.

[q12]

Oil the goal for $1B N.S. offshore program: Shell

Paul Withers CBC News Posted: Aug 23, 2012 3:18 PM AT Last Updated: Aug 23, 2012 4:39 PM AT

Read the story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/08/23/ns-offshore-oil-1-billion.html

[scooby074]

Here's hoping they find oil.. and lots of it.

God knows we need some good business news after the $125 Million boondoggle that New Page has become, even worse today with the news that Stern wants to reduce an already reduced tax assessment. $500,000 tax on a billion dollar paper plant is ridiculous. At least Shell will pay their fair share. DD should have given the $125M to Esso to improve the Dartmouth refinery to keep it going... more sense than a pulp mill if you ask me, especially if we find our own oil to process.

[q12]

BP, Shell team up to explore N.S. offshore

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/176893-bp-shell-team-up-to-explore-ns-offshore

November 16, 2012 - 11:34am BY JOANN ALBERSTAT BUSINESS REPORTER

UPDATED 7:36 p.m. Friday

A pair of oil industry giants plan to spend $1.08 billion exploring Nova Scotia’s offshore in the coming years, including one that just agreed to pay a record settlement over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP has successfully bid $1.04 billion for exploration rights on four parcels, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board announced Friday. Shell has claimed another four leases by agreeing to ante up $31.8 million, the industry regulator said.

BP granted deepwater exploration rights off N.S.

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/bp-granted-deepwater-exploration-rights-off-n-s-1.1041472

:previous:
So BP is spending $1 billion now along with Shell's $1 billion. $2 billion is not chump change, they are both expecting to find some major oil deposits in our deep water. :tup:

[someone123]

Interesting news but the articles I've read on this haven't been very clear. Is this a promise to spend money on exploration? Is the "deposit" really revenue for the province? I wonder how much they have to spend in NS and chance of success are.

It is funny that they had to delay this for a few days, not that it made much difference. If anything the $4.5B ruling might be positive; they won't want that to happen again. I'd be a lot more worried if they caused a mess like that and weren't held accountable.

[Stingray2004]

BP, Shell team up to explore N.S. offshore
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/176893-bp-shell-team-up-to-explore-ns-offshore


These are the interesting quotes from the article:

BP has successfully bid $1.04 billion for exploration rights on four parcels.

The total bid amount is a new record for the offshore industry in the Atlantic region, the petroleum board said. BP’s $638-million offer for one parcel is also a new regional record for a single lease.

The Dutch-based supermajor agreed in January to ante up $970 million for four other blocks.

These are drilling rights, which total almost $2 billion for 2012. This amount should be going into NS provincial coffers upfront.

But this quote from the NS premier doesn't make much sense:

Dexter said he expects the $2 billion Shell and BP have committed to spend will translate into millions for provincial coffers and create new jobs.

Shouldn't that be a $2 billion financial injection into NS provincial coffers for calendar year 2012 as a result of these drilling rights?

Or do things work differently in NS v. Alberta and BC. To put things into perspective, BC's record year for drilling rights was 2008 when $2.66 billion was garnered and flowed directly into the BC provincial treasury. On top of that, ~$7 billion is spent every year on field development.

BP and Shell must pay a 25 per cent deposit, which is non-refundable.

Strange. 100% of drilling rights in both BC and AB are paid upfront into their respective provincial treasuries.

Nevertheless, these big players would not be spending these funds for drilling rights in NS if they were not confident in their endeavours.

[worldlyhaligonian]

What are they doing with all of this money???

We can't afford a stadium?

[q12]

Offshore hurdle cleared

January 7, 2013 - 6:48pm BY JOANN ALBERSTAT BUSINESS REPORTER

Licences approved for exploration work off Nova Scotia by BP, Shell

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/393438-offshore-hurdle-cleared

Good news for the $2 billion in exploration rights awarded for Shell and BP. Sounds like Shell and BP will be setting offices up in Halifax soon.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Good news for the $2 billion in exploration rights awarded for Shell and BP. Sounds like Shell and BP will be setting offices up in Halifax soon.

Whoa... that will improve leasing for various developments.

Wasn't shell here before and they left? or was that Exxon?

[mwd]

Hope it works out for NS!, i know it has done nothing put good things for us in NL :cheers:

[halifaxboyns]

No bash against NL intended, but I have to say I'm a little surprised that the office development in SJ's has been going up because of offshore oil? I would've thought that offices would've focused on being in the city of regional significance (close to the airport with the best flights and accessibility to the offshore), which really is Halifax. Granted, YYT has improved some flight links over the years and is growing again.

My hope is that this is a catalyst to get some new office development (beyond what's occurring now) happening. Would be nice to see a few new 20 storey office towers go up, granted Nova Centre will provide some. But even if International Place got built (along with NC), I'd like to see a few more. Bulk up the skyline a little. :)

[scooby074]

NL government is NOT stupid with their natural resources and maximizing any potential spin-offs.

I would not be surprised if buried in the contracts for access to the oil, there was a clause requiring a local office.

Nova Scotia on the other hand, can't seem to give our resources away fast enough with little in the way of "mandatory" spending within the province.

[SignalHillHiker]

Hey, happened into this thread because I saw the title and wanted to tell you to post it in the Provincial Economies section in the Canada forum - it's great news.

RE: Where the oil and gas companies will set up. Just to give you our perspective: I think the reason we were able to get any at all is that (some of? all of? I don't know) the ships that service this industry are based here. A developer pointed that out to me on a tour of one of the new office towers being built here. His exact words are, "They'll like this building because they can see their ships right out the window. That's what they want."

We're hoping it builds from there, that because some have offices here, they all feel they should because that's just how it is, to stay in the game. Not that I wish any misfortune on Halifax, but we're desperately hoping that we can make St. John's the primary beneficiary of our resource windfall - and use this boom like other oil and gas cities to really grow quickly and reach the critical mass we need to become more difficult to neglect in the future - especially since we start at a significant disadvantage. Halifax is much larger, more conveniently located, probably easier to attract mainlanders in the industry to move to, etc.

So that's, in my opinion, an accurate assessment of how we see what's happening, why, and how we want it to play out.

[jeddy1989]

No bash against NL intended, but I have to say I'm a little surprised that the office development in SJ's has been going up because of offshore oil? I would've thought that offices would've focused on being in the city of regional significance (close to the airport with the best flights and accessibility to the offshore), which really is Halifax. Granted, YYT has improved some flight links over the years and is growing again.

My hope is that this is a catalyst to get some new office development (beyond what's occurring now) happening. Would be nice to see a few new 20 storey office towers go up, granted Nova Centre will provide some. But even if International Place got built (along with NC), I'd like to see a few more. Bulk up the skyline a little. :)

The reason why it is here is because we are closer to our oil feilds, all the fabrication and building of the oil rigs etc. many spin off companies just to service the oil industry. Also:

CALGARY, Alberta – Exxon Mobil Corp said on Friday it is moving forward with the next major offshore oil project in the North Atlantic, the $14-billion Hebron development off the Newfoundland coast, boosting its investments in Canada’s most oil-rich regions.

Exxon Mobil, the U.S. oil major, said it will produce 150,000 barrels of oil a day at Hebron using a massive concrete gravity-base structure like the one employed at the Hibernia project, which has been operating in the iceberg-prone region since the late 1990s.

First production is scheduled for 2017.

The green light for Hebron, the fourth major offshore Newfoundland oil project, is a positive development for energy operations in harsh operating conditions in a week in which the industry came under intense fire for an accident in the Far North

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/01/04/exxon-mobil-moves-ahead-with-14-billion-hebron-oil-field-off-newfoundland/

we are also strategic for the artic and the company I work for also does much in the Greenland oil exploration.

Also there is a lot of IT for deep sea exploration and such here, the Marine institute as well trains the specialists and Memorial University's engeneering school etc.

Also our government is not stupid, there are many clauses that a lot of the work has to come from NL and that's where the offices want to be.

The industry it'self is very developed established here due to the start in oil years ago with Hibernia etc.