Oil Production in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the eastern most province of Canada. The majority of the province 's population can be found on the island of Newfoundland, as most of the province 's source of economy. As the island is located next to the Atlantic ocean, fisheries and fish products have been of the main exports for the province, yet within the last 30-40 years or so, oil has increasingly become an export that contributes to a growing provincial economy. Exploration in Newfoundland waters first began in the 1960s although, there was no rush in finding oil in Newfoundland because at the time, it was much less expensive for oil companies to drill elsewhere in the world. Things changed in 1973 when oil prices increased dramatically and the interest in the possibility of finding oil in Newfoundland also increased. Before any oil was found, but exploration was ongoing, the provincial government of Newfoundland set up a series of regulations on how oil resources were to be developed in the event of discovery, to ensure the maximization of local benefits. In 1979, the Hibernia oil field was discovered, proving that Newfoundland and Labrador had economic potential in the oil industry (Fusco, n.d.). This discovery meant that the regulations that the provincial government created would have to be implemented. The Hibernia oil field discovery ignited a series of disagreements between the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of Newfoundland. The federal government had their own goals for development and believed that Newfoundland should not have the administrative or decision making authorities for offshore mineral resources, stating that “oil was too important of a commodity to have under provincial control” (Crosbie, 2003). This dispute resulted in years of legal battles over jurisdiction of offshore projects. In 1985 the Atlantic Accord was signed, this accord initiated a joint management system for the province 's offshore resources. The accord also

References: 3. Environmental Defence (2010). Duty calls: Federal responsibility in Canada 's oil sands. Pembina Institute and Equiterre. http://www.econcordia.com/courses/environmental_issues/lesson9/PDF/ed-fedpolicy-report- oct2010-web-redo.pdf 4