Offshore drilling in Atlantic Canada

Newfoundland and Labrador is the third largest petroleum producer in Canada, making up 4.4% of Canada's petroleum. As of 2015, the province produced over 27,370 m³ per day of light crude oil from the Grand Banks offshore oil fields.^[1] The Jeanne d'Arc Basin is the province's most active oil field project.

The offshore oil industry of Nova Scotia accounts for about 0.07% of Canadian petroleum production. The majority of its offshore industry is located on the Nova Scotian continental Shelf, within the Sable Island offshore natural gas fields. In 2015, Nova Scotia produced 438 m³ of liquid natural gas per day. As of 2019, that figure is up to 3,200 m³ per day.^[1]

The Jeanne d'Arc Basin is located about 340 km to the southeast from the Island of Newfoundland, Canada. The geological region is defined by an offshore sedimentary basin covering an area greater than 6000 km³ and 20 km in depth.^[2] Hydrocarbon exploration first began during the 1960s by Amoco and Imperial Oil. Exploration wells indicated the potential of the basin for active petroleum drilling. In 1979, the first major well began pumping operations.^[3]

Since 1999, the Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) is an ongoing initiative to conduct natural gas exploration along the Nova Scotian continental Shelf. This project produces over 14,000,000 m³ of natural gas and 3,200 m³ of liquid natural gas daily.^[4] The major partners include ExxonMobil, Shell Canada, Imperial Oil, and Pengrowth Energy.

Beginning in 2013, this exploratory hydrocarbon drilling project was conducted by Shell Canada about 250 km southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Between 2013 and 2015, seven exploration wells have been proposed. The project took place in the Shelburne Basin, which has been a consistent source for Nova Scotian hydrocarbon production.^[5]