Equinor’s drilling plans for the Flemish Pass next year are in line with the federal government’s climate change targets.

That’s according to the federal minister of Environment and Climate Change.

The company has plans to drill a deep-water well in the basin about 500 kilometres off St. John’s.

The news comes after Equinor recently announced they were putting their Bay du Nord project on hold for about three years.

It was anticipated Bay du Nord would be the last major oil project approved by Ottawa.

But Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault cited Equinor’s own words to clarify that issue.

“If you look carefully at the language they’ve used, they said we shouldn’t explore for new oil fields,” he said. “So, no new oil frontier, if you wish, and that’s exactly what we’re doing in Canada.

“We’re not allowing companies to go in places where there isn’t already oil development happening.”

The new Equinor well will be in the same area where Bay du Nord has already been approved.