Shaun Robinson
It’s been one year since ExxonMobil’s long-awaited Hebron platform off the southeast coast of Newfoundland started pumping crude from its first well. It took four years, $14 billion, 132,000 cubic metres of concrete and a few thousand workers to bring it online, and so far, it’s churning out about 40,000 barrels a day, with the crude bound for markets in the U.S. Gulf states, Europe and much of eastern North America. Eventually, Hebron will drill 20 to 30 wells, and is expected to produce around 150,000 barrels a day.
That doesn’t sound like much when compared to production in Alberta’s oil sands, which sits at about 2.4 million barrels daily. But despite offshore drilling posing its own dangers, Hebron has a big advantage over Alberta: Tankers are able to easily access it. With pipelines in the West over capacity and potential new ones mired in a political no-man’s land, offshore projects like Hebron are seen as an exciting new play for foreign investors, who last year sold off almost $23 billion in assets in the oil sands. Indeed, Exxon invested in Hebron as a hedge against Alberta’s oil sands woes, and it seems to have paid off. With an expected reserve of 700 million barrels of recoverable crude, the Hebron project is expected to operate for 30 years. As Newfoundland’s fourth offshore platform, it will play a key role in the province’s plan to double overall production to more than 650,000 barrels a day by 2030.
Total oil production in Newfoundland
and Labrador
(Millions of Barrels)
120
90
60
30
0
NORTH
AMETHYST
CAME
ONLINE
TERRA
NOVA
CAME
ONLINE
WHITE
ROSE
CAME
ONLINE
HIBERNIA
CAME
ONLINE
SOURCE: CANADA-NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
OFFSHORE PETROLEUM BOARD; DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
Total oil production in Newfoundland and Labrador
(Millions of Barrels)
120
90
60
30
0
HIBERNIA
CAME
ONLINE
TERRA NOVA
CAME
ONLINE
WHITE ROSE
CAME
ONLINE
NORTH
AMETHYST
CAME ONLINE
SOURCE: CANADA-NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR OFFSHORE
PETROLEUM BOARD; DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
Total oil production in Newfoundland and Labrador
(Millions of Barrels)
120
90
60
30
0
HIBERNIA
CAME ONLINE
TERRA NOVA
CAME ONLINE
WHITE ROSE
CAME ONLINE
NORTH AMETHYST
CAME ONLINE
SOURCE: CANADA-NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR OFFSHORE PETROLEUM BOARD;
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
Production by Province (2017)
80.7%ALBERTA
11.7%SASKATCHEWAN
5.3%NEWFOUNDLAND
1.4%BRITISH COLUMBIA
0.9%MANITOBA
0.1%OTHER
SOURCE: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Production by Province (2017)
80.7%ALBERTA
11.7%SASKATCHEWAN
5.3%NEWFOUNDLAND
1.4%BRITISH COLUMBIA
0.9%MANITOBA
0.1%OTHER
SOURCE: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Production by province (2017)
80.7%ALBERTA
11.7%SASKATCHEWAN
5.3%NEWFOUNDLAND
1.4%BRITISH COLUMBIA
0.9%MANITOBA
0.1%OTHER
SOURCE: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA