Oil Production in Newfoundland and Labrador

New plantland and Labrador is the eastern most province of Canada. The volume of the provinces population can be prep atomic number 18 on the island of Newfoundland, as most of the provinces stemma of thrift. As the island is located next to the Atlantic ocean, fisheries and fish products slang been of the main merchandises for the province, just within the last 30-40 old age or so, embrocate has increasingly become an export that contri plainlyes to a growing bucolic economy.Exploration in Newfoundland waters first began in the mid-sixties although, at that place was no rush in finding rock crude rock rock crude fossil embrocate in Newfoundland because at the time, it was some(prenominal) less expensive for embrocate companies to drill elsewhere in the world. Things changed in 1973 when crude crude cover prices increased dramatic each(prenominal)y and the please in the possibility of finding petroleum in Newfoundland also increased. Before either oil was f ound, but exploration was ongoing, the barbarian g overnment of Newfoundland set up a series of regulations on how oil resources were to be developed in the emergence of discovery, to construe the maximization of topical anaesthetic benefits.In 1979, the Hibernia oil sketch was ob attendd, proving that Newfoundland and Labrador had economic potential in the oil industry (Fusco, n. d. ). This discovery meant that the regulations that the barbarian politics created would have to be utilise. The Hibernia oil landing field discovery ignited a series of disagreements between the national authorities of Canada and the provincial authorities of Newfoundland.The federal political relation had their profess goals for instruction and believed that Newfoundland should not have the administrative or decision making regime for seaward mineral resources, stating that oil was similarly important of a commodity to have under provincial control (Crosbie, 2003). This struggle res ulted in years of legal battles over jurisdiction of falseshore projects. In 1985 the Atlantic Accord was signed, this accordance of rights initiated a pronounce oversight system for the provinces offshore resources.The accord also included the creation of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador seaward oil color Board (CNLOPB), a get on with of six members in charge of managing offshore resources on behalf of both the federal and provincial levels of giving medication (Fusco, n. d. , Fraser, 2009) (See vermiform process A for more(prenominal) information on the CNLOPB). Hibernia fin totallyy began its oil proceeds in 1997 followed by collar more oil field achievements Terra Nova in 2002, uninfectedRose in 2005 and Hebron, which is expected to demoralize labor in 2017 (See Appendix B for a map of the locations of oil fields off the coast of Newfoundland). This case study relates to Lesson 9 of the course, which looks at null resources that could be found in Canada. Cha llenges and Opportunities Nearly twenty years passed later the Hibernia oil field was discovered before any official production was made. This demonstrates the magnitude of difficulty the province of Newfoundland experienced just to begin to have oil as one of their main exports.The regulations that Newfoundland and Labrador had implemented after the discovery of Hibernia clearly conflicted with the plans of the federal government, which were to increase profits that would benefit the government of Canada as opposed to the people of Newfoundland. The government of Canada wanted to gain an equity venture in the project with increased royalties during clock of high oil prices. Newfoundlands regulations also confine benefits for the oil companies that would be drilling in Hibernia stating that the province was asking for too much and that the companies wanted a fair circumstances of the benefits.Another large obstacle and devastating event surrounding Hibernia, was the sinking of the Ocean commando drilling unit, which not however sank completely, undo all the work that had been done but also resulted in the death of all 84 crew members (Collier, 2010). Investigations later revealed that there were construction flaws and that the crew lacked appropriate raising and equipment in the event of an emergency. After this disaster, it was inflexible that Hibernia would be a Gravity mingy Structure (GBS), which is an oil platform that is held in place by gravity.Even more challenges were set about with this decision because many of the engineers that worked on the GBS had little(a) experience in this type of structure. Additionally, collectible to the complicated nature of this project, most of the men came from other countries who had more experience which at long last resulted in less jobs for locals (Fusco, n. d. ). In regards to the purlieu, oil production in Newfoundland waters, although it may serve as economic gold, also accepts the possibility of environmental destruction for the ocean.Since fisheries and fish products ar some of Newfoundlands main exports, the fear that exploration and drilling in important areas of fisheries may interfere or damage the boilersuit marine ecosystem is an important challenge. Furthermore, oil spills underwrite to be one of the oil industrys largest environmental hazards. Not only would the marine ecosystem be affected but any liveness surrounding the ocean would be for good damaged (Higgins, 2011). Despite the overwhelming challenges, the overall opportunities that offshore oil production would bring to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador would be worth all of the difficulties.This venture would serve as a boost in the provinces general economy which was in particular helpful during the 1990s after the cod fishing industry took a dive for the worst (n. a. , 1998 Fisheries). Not only would the economy be benefitting but the local people would also have smart opportunities for e mployment. All of the challenges that the government of Newfoundland faced in the development stages of this venture ultimately gave the government the experience it needed in sound out to maintain, control, and manage all future oil field developments.This can be seen in the quick and effective development of the Terra Nova and White Rose oil fields. There are other issues surrounding the Hebron field, for example, the type of oil that is found in that location is particularly difficult to extract. These issues are part of the antecedent as to why oil production at Hebron is scheduled to only begin in 2017 (Fusco, n. d. ). Case Lesson Connection In Lesson 9 of the course, it is discussed that crude oil and petroleum contributes to about 31. 3% of the countrys energy resources (Mulrennan, Lesson 9, gliding 7).Although Alberta has about 39% of Canadas remaining formal oil reserves, Newfoundland and Labrador offshore developments come blurb with 28%, not including the oil smooth in Alberta, which in that case would method of accounting for over 95% of oil in Canada (National Energy Board, 2007). The case study which was examined in Lesson 9 looked implicitly at oil sands in Alberta, in particular, how the bloodline of this type of oil is devastating for the environment. ripening in Newfoundland is also not environmentally friendly, since drilling in the ocean results in the destruction of certain marine habitats.The curse of possible oil spillage that also continues to be an issue. However, both Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador have been operative to tighten regulations surrounding the environmental hazards in oil sands and offshore oil production respectively. The Alberta government has demonstrated by means of the implementation of regulations and outlined plans for measures in protect the environment, as well as the CNLOPB in Newfoundland who have also instilled regulations in regards to environment protection.The benefit of having a joint ma nagement system, such as the CNLOPB is that the federal government is as involved in all issues surrounding offshore oil, including the environment (Fraser, 2009). Similarly, as per the reading for Lesson 9, the responsibility of the federal government in pollution control and environmental protection is crucial in attaining results on a national level. References 1. Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. http//www. cnlopb. nl. ca/ 2. Collier, K. (2010). The loss of the Ocean Ranger, 15 February 1982.Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web site. http//www. heritage. nf. ca/ party/ocean_ranger. html 3. Environmental Defence (2010). trade calls Federal responsibility in Canadas oil sands. Pembina Institute and Equiterre. http//www. econcordia. com/courses/environmental_issues/lesson9/PDF/ed-fedpolicy-report-oct2010-web-redo. pdf 4. Crosbie, J. C. (2003). Overview paper on the 1985 Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord. Royal Commission on novelty and Strengthening o ur Position in Canada. 206. Retrieved from http//www. exec. gov. l. ca/royalcomm/research/pdf/Crosbie. pdf 5. Fusco, L. (n. d. ). Offshore oil an overview of development in Newfoundland and Labrador. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved from http//www. ucs. mun. ca/oilpower/documents/NL%20oil%207-25-1. pdf 6. Fraser, G. S. (2009). The Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord implementation act enhancer of the environmental management of offshore oil and gas industry. Marine Policy. 33(2), 312-316. http//0-dx. doi. org. mercury. concordia. ca/10. 1016/j. marpol. 2008. 07. 012 7.Higgins, J. (2011). anele and the environment. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web site. http//www. heritage. nf. ca/ gild/oil_environment. html 8. House, J. D. (2003). Myths and realities about petroleum-related development Lessons for British-Columbia from Atlantic Canada and the North Sea. Journal of Canadian Studies. 37(4), 9-34. http//0-search. proquest. com. mercury. concordia. ca/docview/20355 6887? accountid=10246 9. National Energy Board. (2007). Canadian Energy Review 2007 Energy Market Assessment. http//www. neb. gc. a/clf-nsi/rnrgynfmtn/nrgyrprt/nrgyvrvw/cndnnrgyvrvw2007/cndnnrgyvrvw2007-eng. htmls4_4 10. n. a. (1998) Fisheries. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website. http//www. heritage. nf. ca/ ships company/fishery. html 11. Mulrennan, M. E. (2013). Canadian Environmental Issues (GEOG 203) Lesson 9. Concordia University. Appendix A CNLOPB Organization Chart http//www. cnlopb. nl. ca/pdfs/orgchart. pdf Appendix B Location of Newfoundland oil fields http//www. cbc. ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ invoice/2012/05/31/nl-hebron-development-approval-531. html