Premier Andrew Furey says Newfoundland and Labrador will not turn its back on the oil and gas industry.
He was first up today at the Energy NL Conference in St. John’s, the morning after Equinor dropped a bombshell by delaying the $16 billion Bay du Nord project off Newfoundland.
Furey says the project will be done and told delegates that the world needs oil.
He says he will continue to work with Equinor, which has cancelled ventures elsewhere. Furey noted that they are keeping their St. John’s office open. He says the key is that he will work with, not for, the company. The Premier says he works for the people and not for any company.
(NDP Leader Jim Dinn, PC Leader David Brazil. File photo.)
Both opposition parties are concerned over the Bay du Nord project being shelved for another three years.
PC Leader David Brazil says the project was meant to act as an “anchor” for the province through the green transition, and if deep water oil and gas projects are off the table, and other investors are “scared off” by the announcement, that means a major problem for the economy.
Brazil is calling on Premier Andrew Furey to explain what this will mean for the industry.
NDP Leader Jim Dinn, meanwhile, says they are getting “strong signals” from the oil industry that it is on shaky ground.
He says it comes back to the NDP’s calls for a just transition plan to make sure the province doesn’t crash and burn.
