Independent Resource Assessments Reveal Oil and Gas Potential Offshore Newfoundland and Labrador Continues to Grow

Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2022 Independent Oil and Gas Resource Assessments released show a potential of 50.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (P50 unrisked volumes) in the Eastern and the South Eastern Newfoundland Regions.

The two resource assessments for 2022 are based on new data covering parcels on offer by the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) in the Orphan basin and the southern Salar basin. Four of the parcels in the Orphan basin and all 10 of the parcels in the southern Salar basin are newly posted acreage.

The basin models for both resource assessments completed by Beicip-Franlab show high oil and gas potential in a large number of structural and stratigraphic layers.

The resource assessment within the Orphan basin area demonstrates a potential for an active petroleum system with four main plays sourced from various source rocks.  

This is the C-NLOPB’s second license round for the southern Salar basin off the southeastern coast of Newfoundland. The southern Salar basin model shows an active petroleum system with potential reservoirs in at least four stratigraphic layers. While the region is within an unexplored and undrilled basin, the high-quality seismic data indicate the potential existence of significant oil and gas resources in this basin.

In collaboration with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (Department of Industry, Energy and Technology), OilCo has engaged Beicip-Franlab to conduct independent resource assessments for offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in advance of the closing of scheduled license rounds. Nine resource assessments have been conducted in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador since 2015.

Established in 2019 by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from Nalcor Energy-Oil and Gas, OilCo focuses on attracting new investments to the oil and gas industry in Newfoundland and Labrador and maximizing returns through equity investments—positioning this province as a globally-preferred location for development.

To learn more about the 2022 Independent Oil and Gas Resource Assessments and to view the 2022 reports, click here or visit OilCoNL.com and view Licensing Rounds. https://oilconl.com/licensing-rounds/2022-eastern-and-south-eastern-newfoundland-regions/