As an Oil Un-Building Looms, Newfoundlanders Ask: What Next, and Who Pays?
After months of repeated industry setbacks, lobbying and a rare public rally by workers, the federal government responded with a big injection of cash Friday into the struggling Newfoundland and Labrador oil sector.
Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan revealed, Sep 25, 2020, during a news conference in St. John's, that Ottawa will hand over $320 million to the provincial government, with the only caveat being that it be used to support workers and reduce carbon emissions.
"This is about jobs in our province. This is about the future of our sector," O'Regan told the small gathering of politicians and industry leaders at the Johnson Geo Centre.
The jobs didn't come back. The interest in oil is dwindling. What's next?
Newfoundland's Hibernia offshore oil project gets $38 million in federal aid
Newfoundland and Labrador is giving $38 million to the Hibernia offshore oil project in a bid to protect 148 jobs over 18 months.
Premier Andrew Furey said Wednesday the money will create 300,000 hours of work on the offshore oil project. “We will continually work for the benefit of our province, of our oil and gas industry and of our people to help get our economy back on its feet and our residents back to work,'' Furey told reporters.
The money comes from a pot of $320 million offered by the federal government in September to bolster the province's floundering offshore oil industry, which has been hit hard by crashing global prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among Hibernia's owners are ExxonMobil Canada, Chevron Canada Resources and Suncor. A conglomerate of those companies, called the Hibernia Management and Development Company, manages and operates the project.
I can’t help but think they are taking the government for a ride. Pretty sure the companies could fund this themselves if they wanted to.