Canada's Offshore Oil & Gas Sector: 15 Facts, History, and More!

Canadian Offshore Oil & Gas: 15 Facts & Statistics

­#1 - Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore sector supported an estimated 15,834 direct, indirect, and induced jobs in the region in 2023 ^[12]

#2 - In 2024, nearly 4,450 Newfoundland and Labrador and other Canadian residents were working in direct support of petroleum-related activities in Atlantic Canada’s offshore oil and gas area ^[10]

#3 - Offshore oil production is a critical economic driver for Newfoundland and Labrador, representing $7.5 billion, or 55% of the province’s total exports in 2024 ^[12]

#4 - Provincial governments estimate that offshore Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil reserves are 123.5 billion barrels, and an additional 22.6 billion barrels off Nova Scotia ^[12]

#5 - Several trillions of cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas are also estimated to be recoverable offshore in Atlantic Canada, including up to 11.3 Tcf within the Jeanne d’Arc Basin alone ^[13]

#6 - An additional 20 potential natural gas fields near the offshore Jeanne D’Arc Basin have up to a potential 30.6 Tcf of additional natural gas reserves ^[13]

#7 - The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to receive $1.55 billion in oil and natural gas royalties in 2025 ^[11]

#8 - In its 2024 budget, Newfoundland and Labrador’s government forecasted royalties collected from the offshore oil and gas sector would total $1.551 billion, or about 15.1% of the province’s entire operating budget ^[11]

#9 - Approximately 4% of Canada’s total oil production comes from four offshore facilities: Hibernia, White Rose, Terra Nova, and Hebron ^[14]

#10 - In 2024, combined offshore oil production in Newfoundland and Labrador totalled about 209 million barrels, down from peak levels of 368 million barrels in 2007 ^[12]

#11 - In 2024, approximately $556 million was spent on exploratory activities, generating 1,697 person-months of employment for Canadians ^[10]

#12 - Canada’s offshore operators reported $4 billion in expenditures in 2024, providing invaluable economic activity for the Atlantic region of Canada ^[10]

#13 - Since 1966, Canada’s offshore oil and gas operators have spent a cumulative $81 billion in the Canadian economy ^[10]

#14 - Ongoing offshore production activities accounted for $2.3 billion of expenditures in 2024, approximately 53% of which occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador, and a further 21% across the rest of Canada ^[10]

#15 - The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) reported that more than 4.36 million hours were worked by employees in the offshore region during the 2024-2025 period ^[10]

Atlantic Canada’s Offshore Oil & Gas Facilities

Today, there are four producing offshore platforms along the coast of Atlantic Canada, including:

Hebron ^[2] – offshore oil field with an estimated 700 million barrels of recoverable oil, producing first oil in 2017 and its 100 millionth barrel of oil in 2020 ^[2]

Hibernia ^[3][6][7] – Began production of oil in 1997, with an estimated 1.8 billion barrels in recoverable reserves; it surpassed 1.2 billion barrels of production in 2022 and is expected to produce for two more decades

Terra Nova ^[4][9] – Produced its first oil in 2002, it has an estimated 400 million barrels of recoverable oil; with recent extension work, the project is expected to produce until 2023

White Rose ^[5][8] – Production at White Rose began in 2005, with an estimated 436 million barrels of oil, and 1.497 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas liquids

Brief History of Canadian Offshore Oil & Gas

1959 - The oil and natural gas sector in Canada starts exploring offshore development, with a U.S. energy major initiating exploratory steps of Sable Island about 100 kilometres southeast of Nova Scotia in 1959

1969 – The Cohasset-Panuke offshore oil project was discovered off the coast of Nova Scotia

1979 – Hibernia Field is discovered roughly 300 kilometres east-southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

1980 – Hebron Field is discovered 350 kilometres east-southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

1984 – Both Terra Nova and White Rose are discovered off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately the same distance away as the Hebron Field

1992 - Canadian offshore oil production begins from the Cohasset and Panuke fields, found offshore of Nova Scotia

1997 – Hibernia oil field off the coast of Newfoundland & Labrador begins production

1999 – The Cohasset-Panuke offshore project was officially decommissioned due to natural decline rates that saw the project producing just 6,000 barrels of oil per day by 1999

2002 – Terra Nova, approximately 350 kilometres southeast of Newfoundland & Labrador, starts producing oil

2005 – White Rose, 350 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland, offshore starts producing oil

2017 – Hebron, the newest offshore oil production platform off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, comes online; the project is expected to produce 150,000 barrels per day at peak levels

2018 – Sable Offshore Energy Project off the coast of Nova Scotia is shut down after completing its production cycle

2022 – Bay Du Nord is approved by the federal government, although delayed by the project proponent

2023 – Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board approves exploration license for shallow-water parcel off Sable Island, but provincial and federal government officials deny the license based on energy transition concerns

2025 – Nova Scotia eyes return to petroleum exploration for the first time since 2018, when the Sable Offshore project terminated

2026 – West White Rose, a new oil field, is on target for first oil production in 2026

2031 – Norwegian project proponent says that Bay Du Nord is projected to begin first production in 2031 – if the development goes ahead

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Energy security matters. Everything we do is based upon non-interrupted access to electricity and transportation fuels.

New Zealand is moving to restart offshore oil and natural gas exploration in a bid to shore up energy supplies. #CdnPoli pic.twitter.com/IfHRDat9Sx

— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) June 27, 2024

SOURCES:

_{1 - https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-sources/fossil-fuels/offshore-oil-gas}

_{2 - https://www.hebronproject.com/}

_{3 – https://www.hibernia.ca/}

_{4 – https://www.suncor.com/}

_{5 – https://www.gov.nl.ca/iet/energy/petroleum/offshore/projects/whiterose-ext/}

_{6 - https://www.upstreamonline.com/production/potential-350-million-barrel-resource-boost-at-hibernia-canadas-largest-offshore-oilfield/2-1-1245598?zephr_sso_ott=4MqKDQ}

_{7 - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/hibernia-anniversary-oil-1.6653495}

_{8 - https://www.cnloer.ca/news/c-nlopb-announces-update-of-volume-estimate-for-white-rose-field/}

_{9 - https://www.gov.nl.ca/iet/energy/petroleum/offshore/projects/terranova/}

_{10 - https://www.cnloer.ca/wp-content/uploads/ar2025e.pdf}

_{11 - https://www.atlanticaenergy.org/energy-economics-revenues/}

_{12 - https://www.atlanticaenergy.org/energy-101-offshore-oil/}

_{13 - https://www.gov.nl.ca/iet/files/Natural-Gas-Resource-Assessment-Report-FINAL.pdf}

_{14 - https://www.capp.ca/en/oil-natural-gas-you/oil-natural-gas-canada/offshore/}

_{15 - https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/maritime/tab/mar-tab2-eng.htm#table1-fna}