Nalcor Energy-Oil and Gas alongside the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and Beicip-Franlab has identified an additional 11.7 billion barrels of oil and 60.2 trillion cubic feet of gas potential offshore.
Image: Nalcor has identified an additional 11.7 billion barrels of oil and 60.2 trillion cubic feet of gas potential offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Photo:courtesy of suwatpo/Freedigitalphotos.net.
According to Nalcor, the independent resource assessments were prepared by taking new data covering parcels on offer in the Orphan Basin and the East Jeanne d’Arc Basin contained in the area of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) 2018 Eastern Newfoundland Call for Bids.
So far, Newfoundland and Labrador has more than 650 hydrocarbon leads and prospects marked and has seen C$2.9bn ($2.2bn) spent in recent exploration activities.
The province’s next license round will feature 16 parcels, out of which nine are the focus of the resource assessment. These have been divided into two separate land areas – 2018 A (Orphan Basin) and 2018 B (East Jeanne d’Arc Basin).
Nalcor said that the new 3D seismic data and seabed cores collected by it and its partners – TGS, PGS and Furgo in the Orphan Basin has given scientific evidence of active petroleum systems in the bid area.
It has also claimed that various leads and prospects have been marked and separate assessment reports have been compiled for 2018 A and 2018 B.
Nalcor corporate services and offshore development executive vice president Jim Keating said: “Our ongoing collection of data is showing significant geological diversity throughout our offshore. Currently five drilling plans have been submitted to the regulator.
“These exploration programs coupled with the province’s continued data acquisition will further build our knowledge surrounding the full resource potential offshore and the role these resources will play in building a strong future for our province.”
Nalcor revealed that the independent assessment covered around 2% or 20,000km2 of the offshore area of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Currently, the company is a working interest partner in three offshore projects that include Hebron oil field, the White Rose Growth Project and the Hibernia Southern Extension.