Ottawa, province veto $1.5 million Nova Scotia offshore oil exploration bid – Halifax

A $1.5-million bid for an oil and gas exploration licence off Nova Scotia has been denied by the provincial and federal governments.

The bid by U.K.-based Inceptio Limited for a shallow water parcel on the Sable Bank of the Scotian Shelf was approved by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board in October.

However, the bid was subject to the approval of the federal and provincial ministers of natural resources, who ruled against it in a decision released late Monday.

In a joint statement, the ministers say that while they have confidence in the board’s regulatory process, they have a shared commitment to pursue economic opportunities in the clean energy sector.

Had it been approved, Inceptio’s bid would have renewed oil and gas exploration efforts off Nova Scotia.

In 2018, production was permanently shut down at ExxonMobil’s Sable Offshore Energy Project and at Encana’s Deep Panuke project, which were the province’s only producing offshore natural gas fields.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2023.