CANADIAN AUTHORITIES APPOROVE BAY DU NORD MEGAPROJECT OFF NEWFOUNDLAND

Federal Environment Minister formally approved the Bay du Nord offshore oil megaproject.
With reserves of nearly 300 million barrels of oil, Bay du Nord is the first remote, deep water project in the province’s offshore (500 kilometres from shore and approximately 1,200 metres deep). It opens a new basin – the Flemish Pass and is the first project to be negotiated under Newfoundland and Labrador’s generic oil royalty regulations.
The Bay du Nord project (BdN) consist of several oil discoveries in the Flemish pass basin, some 500 km northeast of St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The first discovery was made by Equinor in 2013, followed by additional discoveries in 2015, 2016 and 2020.
Confirmed discoveries in 2020 in adjacent exploration licence EL1156 (Cappahayden and Cambriol East) are potential tie-ins in a joint project development. The Bay du Nord discovery is at a water depth of approximately 1170 metres whilst the new discoveries are at approx. 650 water depth.
Cenovus Energy is Equinor’s partner in the Bay du Nord discoveries. BP is Equinor’s partner in the Cappahayden and Cambriol Central discoveries.
The Equinor plan is to use a massive floating production, storage and offloading vessel, commonly known as an FPSO, capable of producing up to 200,000 barrels daily. The project will be Newfoundland and Labrador’s fifth offshore oil field to move into production since Hibernia launched in 1997. Bay du Nord would begin pumping oil as early as 2028.
Equinor has been active in Canada since 1996, and operates the Bay du Nord and Baccalieu fields in the Flemish Pass Basin, discovered in 2013 and 2016. The licence is part of our strategy to develop prolific basins, advancing our position in a region where we already have a well-established exploration portfolio.
(Source: Equinor/Newfoundland & Labrador/gov.nl.ca – Image: Bay du Nord FPSO/Equinor)