Newfoundland and Nova Scotia offshore regulators have expanded a draft environmental review of their shared Laurentian sub-basin because of stepped up interest by producers holding leases in the region. The Canada-Newfoundland and Canada-Nova Scotia offshore petroleum boards said the preliminary strategic assessment was a first step toward expected exploration and production.

According to a joint announcement, the boards extended “the boundary of the study area southwards in anticipation of possible interest by the petroleum industry.” The study area is early and only “based on what we think is going to happen,” according to a board spokeswoman.

In April 2002, a federal tribunal settled the two provinces’ 40-year-old offshore boundary dispute on 60,000 square kilometers of ocean floor (see Daily GPI, April 8, 2002). The settlement gave Newfoundland about 70% of the disputed sub-basin, which may hold enough reserves to surpass the province’s royalties from the Sable natural gas and Hibernia oil projects combined, the government said.

Until the dispute was settled, producers had not been active in the area. Those holding permits in the Newfoundland-controlled region include ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Imperial Oil and Murphy Oil.

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