Oil and gas

Wealth from the shelf
Oil and gas developments hold the promise of revitalizing the economy of Atlantic Canada. Two oil projects in Newfoundland and Labrador have proved to be great successes: Hibernia and Terra Nova, in production since 1997 and 2002; a third major project, White Rose, is slated to begin production in 2005. Hibernia, located 315 kilometres east of St. John’s, Newfoundland, is a deposit of over 3 billion barrels of oil, lying underneath the Grand Banks — 80 m below the water surface. The project required the construction of a specially designed 111-m-high storm- and iceberg-proof Gravity Based Structure (GBS). Atop this structure sits Topsides: two oil drill shafts, a riser shaft, and a utility shaft — each 17 m in diameter. By 2000, Hibernia accounted for 12 percent of Canada’s oil output. Hibernia also holds a vast reserve of natural gas, which may be extracted in the future. The first offshore natural gas development in Canadian history was Nova Scotia’s Sable project. Over 17 million cubic metres of gas are produced every day. In New Brunswick, oil and gas have been produced since the early 20th century.