Reaction to the federal approval of the Bay du Nord oil project on Wednesday ranged from triumph to condemnation, with proponents claiming financial gain and those opposed to it denouncing the environmental impact of fossil fuel emissions. Supporters of the project, which includes the New Earth and Labrador government and the local oil industry, say it will help the province switch to renewable energy while meeting growing global demand for oil. Meanwhile, climate scientists and environmental activists say the project runs counter to federal climate targets and the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Norwegian oil company Equinor and its partners plan to develop the oil field at Flemish Pass, about 500 kilometers east of St. Petersburg. John’s. With the drilling more than a kilometer underwater, the Bay du Nord will be the first project to transport the province’s offshore oil industry to such deep waters. Equinor plans to use a huge production, storage and unloading vessel, commonly known as the FPSO, capable of producing up to 200,000 barrels per day. The project was approved by the federal government following the release of its climate plan last week, which set a ceiling on emissions from the oil and gas sector but did not require production to stop.
Well done from the oil sector
According to Equinor, the project will create thousands of jobs and generate $ 3.5 billion in revenue, an attractive proposition for a government owed billions of dollars.
During a press conference with Newfoundland and Labrador officials Wednesday, the president of Energy NL – the association representing the province’s oil and energy sector – spoke of the benefits of the project, saying it would be one of the projects. oil with the lowest carbon emissions in the world.
Charlene Johnson, CEO of Energy NL, said the project would bring significant financial benefits. (Ted Dillon / CBC)
“The Bay du Nord project is a critical part of our journey towards a clean zero energy sector, while providing significant jobs and financial benefits,” said Charlene Johnson.
While it is true that offshore Newfoundland and Labrador emissions emit less emissions from other producers, mining accounts for only about 15 percent of a barrel emissions. When this oil burns for energy, it produces just six percent less carbon than diluted asphalt from Alberta sand.
Meanwhile, in a press release, the Canadian Petroleum Producers Association reiterated Johnson’s statement.
“The Bay du Nord is an environmentally friendly project that will provide safe, responsibly developed energy to the world,” said one spokesman.
“We have to finish”: Defenders of the environment
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report last week warning that the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce global warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels is completely unattainable. On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure would be “moral and economic madness”.
Sierra Club activist Heather Elliott said the Bay du Nord should mark the end of investment in new fossil fuel projects. (CBC)
Julia Levin, senior program director at Environmental Defense, said the Bay du Nord would produce one billion barrels of oil, which in turn would produce about 400 million tonnes of coal – the equivalent of running 100 coal-fired power plants a year.
“We have to take responsibility for the effects of oil and gas on the world.”
Levin said the project only makes sense in a world that has failed to cope with the climate crisis, and noted moves by companies and other countries to move away from fossil fuels.
“Demand for oil will plummet and the question now is whether Canada will be prepared.”
Heather Elliott, Newfoundland and Labrador’s campaign at the Sierra Club, said she was disappointed with the decision to approve the project.
“Scientists and climate experts have explicitly told us that we can not continue to expand fossil fuels. Oil, gas, coal, whatever – we have to finish.”
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