Offshore Development
Offshore Development
Offshore Development

Offshore Development1

Exploration and development in Canada's offshore has been underway for nearly 40 years. Activity is concentrated in the Atlantic region, with exploration potential off the west coast of British Columbia and in the Arctic.

  • Established reserves in the Atlantic offshore are estimated at 178 million cubic metres of conventional crude oil and 25 billion cubic metres of natural gas.
  • Nearly $18 billion has been invested to date – in seismic surveys, drilling and new facilities.

The first offshore discovery in Atlantic Canada was at Sable Island in 1971. The first offshore project was Cohasset-Panuke, followed by Hibernia, Sable Island, Terra Nova and White Rose. In late 2007, the Deep Panuke natural gas field offshore Nova Scotia received approval for development.

Projects

Sable Island

Sable Island2 produces about 3% of Canada's total natural gas output from one of the largest natural gas deposits under development in North America. The $3 billion project has six major natural gas fields located 10 to 40 km north of the edge of the Scotian Shelf. Five fields are now onstream — North Triumph, Thebaud, Venture, Alma and South Venture – all connected to the Nova Scotia mainland by a 200 km subsea pipeline.

Daily gas production averaged 11 million cubic metres in 2007. A gas compression unit was installed adjacent to the project's Thebaud platform in November 2006 and is expected to boost output by 25%.

Hibernia3

The Hibernia4 field, discovered in 1979, is located on the Grand Banks some 300 km east of St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. First oil production from the massive Hibernia platform was in November 1997. In 2007 the field averaged 21 500 cubic metres of oil per day. Cumulative oil production reached 90.6 million cubic metres at year–end 2007.

Facilities include a fixed production platform with a Gravity Base Structure (GBS) and topside drilling. The GBS is the first of its kind. A 15–metre thick concrete wall protects against sea ice and icebergs. The platform is designed to withstand the impact of a six million tonne iceberg, which is only likely to occur every 10 000 years.

Terra Nova5

The Terra Nova Field6, discovered in 1984, is located 350 km east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and 35 km southeast of the Hibernia field. First oil production was in January 2002. In 2007, oil production averaged18 500 cubic metres per day. Cumulative production was 34.9 million cubic metres at the end of 2007. Terra Nova was the first harsh environment project in North America to use a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

White Rose7 8

The White Rose Field9, discovered in 1984, is located 350 km east of St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. Oil production commenced in November 2005. In 2007, the field averaged 18 600 cubic metres of oil per day. Cumulative production to year–end 2007 was 12.3 million cubic metres. White Rose is being developed with a Floating Production Storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is tied into a subsea production system of wellheads and flowlines. The wellheads are located in excavations, known as glory holes, to guard against iceberg scour.

Deep Panuke

The Deep Panuke10 project was approved for development in late 2007. The estimated $700 million project, located about 250 km southeast of Nova Scotia, is expected to begin production in 2010. Current design capacity is for 8.5 million cubic metres per day of sales gas. Deep Panuke is considered a sour gas reservoir (0.18% H2S). The project design consists of a jackup Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) in a water depth of 44 metres.

Other Projects

Off Canada's East Coast is the East Orphan Basin, one of the world's last unexplored frontiers. Regional seismic surveys suggest it could hold up to 1.3 billion cubic metres of oil. An exploratory well was completed in 2007, with two more exploration wells slated for the basin. In August 2007, an agreement was signed between Newfoundland & Labrador and industry partners to develop the Hebron–Ben Nevis (Hebron) oil field.