Led by Husky Energy Inc., a handful of companies won development rights on four offshore parcels by committing to spend a total of $186-million to explore them, the Canada- Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board said yesterday.
The successful rights sale has fuelled further optimism in the province's oil and gas industry, which recently celebrated a $7-billion deal to develop the oil field and is expecting 's partners to reach agreement to proceed with the next phase of that first offshore project.
Oil companies were last active in the region in the late 1970s and early 1980s – spurred by federal grants under the National Energy Program – and made five significant discoveries of gas. But after hoping to find oil, they abandoned because of the inhospitable conditions and lack of infrastructure to get gas to market.
(Source: www.theglobeandmail.com)