Offshore Exploration

Companies are continuing to evaluate and develop the abundant resources off the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador. These projects apply the latest exploration technologies to unique environmental conditions and geological complexities. Intensive seabed mapping and remote sensing are key to these offshore programs.

Specialized operations are being employed in unique approaches in Canada' exploration offshore:

• One of Canada's largest 3-D seismic projects was conducted in the East Orphan Basin, an area with harsh conditions including migrating icebergs. This proprietary and contiguous, single-season project was conducted approximately 400 km offshore Newfoundland & Labrador.
• Canada's northern offshore has some of the most difficult environmental challenges in the world. In the shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea, drilling is conducted from artificial islands built to withstand migrating ice.
• Canada's west coast offshore is another prospective area. In 2007, British Columbia's B.C. Energy Plan re-affirmed its commitment to offshore oil and gas exploration and development. The province has requested that the federal government lift its moratorium on offshore drilling, and reiterated that the provincial moratorium would be lifted at the same time.