As Europe seeks replacements for Russian oil, the Canadian government has withheld approval of a $12 billion supply project led by Norwegian producer Equinor ASA offshore of Newfoundland.

Canada

A week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, the Liberal federal cabinet in Ottawa announced its second 40-day postponement of a decision on the 200,000 b/d platform planned for an Atlantic discovery known as Bay du Nord.

The announcement said the cabinet needs more study of potential “significant adverse environmental effects” despite a favorable verdict rendered last August by the national government’s own watchdog, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC).

A 337-page report on a three-year IAAC review said, “The Agency concludes that the Bay du Nord...