One region that is trying to make the most out of the OTC meeting is Nova Scotia. In the first 24 hours of the meeting, Nova Scotia was the subject of what is called here a "topical lunch"; a press conference was held the next morning; and an offer was made for a further interview with Diana Lee Dalton on Nova Scotia's plans, even though she had already spoke extensively to Platts following the Monday lunch.
The press conference featured Nova Scotia's Deputy Energy Minister Alison Scott, who also was the presenter at the Tuesday press conference. Nova Scotia is gearing up for its first-ever bid round later this year. As Scott said at the press conference, the province no longer wants to wait around for an oil company to make a proposal on developing acreage; Nova Scotia instead will bring the acreage to the oil companies and open up their bids. At both the lunch and the press conference, a shorter more flexible regulatory regime was praised.
Nova Scotia's most successful project is the Sable Island offshore gas project, which delivers natural gas to New England. But the more flexible regulatory regime is being tested as EnCana is seeking to develop a smaller, 300,000 Mcf/d project at the Deep Panuke field; the orignal plan was 400,000 Mcf/d.
Leave a comment