Government Continues to Invest in Nova Scotia's Offshore Potential

New research will help Nova Scotians and industry better understand the oil and gas resource potential lying off the coast of Cape Breton.

Government announced today, Jan. 30, that Beicip-Franlab was the successful bidder to develop a comprehensive geoscience picture of the Sydney Basin.

"Our model of investing in geoscience research to attract major international firms has created jobs and resulted in commitments worth more than $2 billion for exploration programs," said acting Energy Minister Lloyd Hines on behalf of Michel Samson. "We know our offshore potential is tremendous, and that's why we continue to increase our knowledge locally so we can build our competitive advantage globally."

The $854,000 investment is part of government's four-year, $12-million commitment to help grow Nova Scotia's offshore sector.

The information gathered will build on previous research to develop the Play Fairway Analysis, which indicates Nova Scotia has more than 120 trillion cubic feet of gas and eight billion barrels of oil in the province's offshore.

"Energy production projects don't happen overnight, they take many years to come together," said Maritimes Energy Association CEO Ray Ritcey. "The more we understand now about our resource potential, the better our companies can prepare to develop future opportunities."

Work is expected to be completed this summer and the results will be released publicly.