BP Begins Exploration Campaign on the Canadian Shelf
The leading international mining corporation BP is starting an exploration campaign on the Canadian shelf. The company’s plans include geological exploration with potential discoveries worth billions of barrels of oil. The drilling vessel Stena IceMax will drill the Ephesus F-94 well in the Orphan Basin offshore Newfoundland and Labrador.
According to preliminary estimates, the company expects to discover about 5 billion barrels of oil on the Canadian shelf during the 2023 exploration campaign. Last year, BP abandoned the development of Canadian oil sands, but returned to the country to develop the shelf on its east coast. About 400 km off the coast of Newfoundland, the company plans to drill its first exploration well in an area called Cape Freels. According to OilPrice experts, Canada’s Cape Freels claims fourth place among the top five exploration projects around the world this year.
Despite protests from environmentalists over possible damage to the unique marine environment of the Canadian province, oil companies are planning large-scale exploration around Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial authorities have announced their desire to double offshore oil production by 2030, which encourages oil and gas corporations to implement new projects here. BP has a 50% stake in three offshore licenses in the Canadian province, while Hess and Noble Energy have 25% each. In 2017, the companies paid $413 million for the plots for three licenses.
