Two new oil discoveries off Newfoundland are being lauded as big news by government. An industry watcher calls it encouraging.
Equinor and its partner, BP Canada, say the two wells at the Cappahayden and Cambriol prospects were drilled this summer in the Flemish Pass Basin. While they have proven the presence of hydrocarbons, it is too early to provide specific information on volumes.
The wells, drilled by the semi-submersible rig Transocean Barents, are located approximately 500 km east of St. John’s.
Based on its findings, the C-NLOPB issued a ‘Significant Discovery Licence (SDL 1058) to Equinor Canada Ltd. on Wednesday, October 28.
The Cappahayden well has a water depth of about 1,000 metres and the Cambriol well a depth of 600 metres.
Oil and gas consultant Rob Strong says you don’t spend several hundred thousand dollars a day without good reason.
He says you don’t spend that amount of time and money on dry wells, so it’s encouraging. Both are potentially sub-sea tiebacks with the core Bay du Nord area. Strong is hopeful that the wells will enhance the estimate of 300-million barrels in Bay du Nord and make it a viable project.
Noia Calls Announcement Encouraging
Noia CEO Charlene Johnson calls Equinor’s announcement encouraging at a time when encouraging news is needed in the province’s offshore.
Johnson says offshore exploration is “imperative to the future of the industry” and those successful wells demonstrate the region’s “exceptional prospectivity.”
Noia looks forward to further details about the wells.
