Newfoundland and Labrador’s Noia comments on industry task force report

Thursday, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador released the Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Task Force Report which contains 52 recommendations pertaining to the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore oil and gas industry. While Noia is currently reviewing the recommendations, the association is initially pleased with the recommendations and the approach of the task force to deal with current challenges and prepare for the future.

“Authored by a group of Newfoundland and Labrador industry leaders with international expertise, this report is an excellent guidepost to reach our potential,” Noia CEO Charlene Johnson said. “I would like to thank the members of the task force for their hard work, consultation and collaboration, and commitment to get this done. While we are still reviewing the report, there are a number of positive recommendations, including many of the recent requests Noia has made for our industry. For example, Noia has advocated for an entity - as exists in leading jurisdictions like the UK and Norway - with a mission of maximizing our resource benefits and ensuring local participation in the offshore oil and gas industry. Notably, the task force recommends the creation of such an agency – either new or through the province’s current oil and gas organization.”

The report also makes a series of recommendations about exploration activity offshore Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Exploration is a focus of the report and with upwards of 90 exploration wells having received environmental approval, we should get drill bits turning,” Johnson said. “Exploration leads to discoveries and that is why I am also pleased to see the task force recommend expansion of the provincial exploration initiative. This initiative was launched in the fall by Premier Furey and further inventive actions like that are required to help us be globally competitive and attract international investment.

“The task force report also outlines responsibilities for the recommendations while proposing an aggressive timeline for implementation; 85% of the recommendations are proposed to be completed in six months. Given the defined responsibilities, I see no reason why we cannot get at this work immediately and accomplish great things in a relatively short period. Right now, all of us in the industry, led by the provincial government, need to roll up our sleeves and get it done.”’The provincial government has indicated it is supportive of the idea of establishing an implementation oversight committee with representation from across the offshore oil and gas industry, governments, and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. To help move forward with these recommendations, Noia is willing to participate in any manner requested.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industries Association (Noia) was founded in 1977 to represent the supply and service sector of the offshore oil and gas industry. Today, Noia represents approximately 460 member organizations worldwide which are involved in, or benefit from, the oil and gas industry of Newfoundland and Labrador. Noia members are a diverse representation of businesses that range from offshore supply boats and helicopters, health and safety equipment and training, engineering solutions and fabricators to law firms and human resource agencies.