Laurentian, other areas

All eyes lately have turned to another potentially rich area known as the Laurentian basin, which lies between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Laurentian area was the subject of major territorial disputes for over 30 years, first between Canada and France, which owns small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence south of Newfoundland and Labrador, and recently between the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the province of Nova Scotia.

The International Court of Arbitration established the new boundary between Canada and France in 1992, and in April 2002, a federal arbitration tribunal established a new offshore boundary between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The federal and provincial governments involved are expected to sign a final agreement in coming months. According to the Geological Survey of Canada, this sub-basin may hold 600 – 700 million bbl of oil and 8 – 9 tcf of gas.

In September 2004, three major oil companies – ConocoPhillips, Murphy Oil Corp., and BHP Billiton Petroleum (Americas) Inc. – announced they had begun 2D seismic surveys of the ocean floor in the Laurentian basin and were to start 3D surveys in 2005.

With billions of dollars invested in existing and upcoming projects, Canada's east coast oil and gas development sector has a very promising future.