ExxonMobil Corp. will spend $14 billion to develop the Hebron oil field off the shore of eastern Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador, a project it expects to yield 700 million barrels of oil, the company said Friday.
ExxonMobil Corp. will spend $14 billion to develop the
Hebron
oil
field off the shore of eastern Canadian province
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
, a
project it expects to yield 700 million barrels of oil, the company said
Friday.
Exxon's announcement underlines how major oil producers are returning their
attention to
North America
after years of searching for
oil in the
Middle East
,
Africa
and
other regions. New drilling technology has allowed ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips
and other companies to make major discoveries in shale formations in
Canada
and
the
U.S.
, and
those same companies are now increasingly turning their attention to fields off
the continent's shores.
Exxon said production will start in 2017 and should eventually reach 150,000
barrels of oil a day. The
Irving
,
Texas
,
company will own through a subsidiary a 36% share in the project, with Chevron
Corp., Suncor Energy Inc., Statoil ASA and Nalcor Energy & Gas also holding
stakes.
Though the
U.S.
hasn't allowed oil drilling off the coast of the
Atlantic
for
decades, the Atlantic floor has proved fertile for those seeking reserves off
Canada
.
Earlier this year, Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it would spend $1 billion to
explore Atlantic waters off the
province
of
Nova
Scotia
. Around 40% of the nominal gross domestic product
of
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
comes
from the energy-and-resources sector, according to figures from the Canadian
government.
"
North America
is beginning to look like the hottest place on
Earth now, both onshore and offshore," said Oppenheimer senior energy
analyst Fadel Gheit. "
Eastern Canada
is
definitely under-explored."
The drilling will take place more than 200 miles southeast of the province's
capital of
St. John's
, in
about 300 feet of water. Exxon said it will use a stand-alone, gravity-based
structure designed to withstand the sea ice that makes drilling on
Canada
's
Atlantic coast hazardous.
The governments of
Canada
and
of
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
approved the project in May.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01