The Husky gambit last week presents the province’s leaders with a fundamental challenge. Do we continue on the current path or do we change? This is not just a question of oil development versus some nebulous, pseudo-intellectual gibberish called “decarbonization”. It is the question from 1984: who will control the Newfoundland and Labrador
Continue readingTag: Hebron
The Sir Robert Bond Papers: Bay du Nord and Equity #nlpoli
In a staged political event Thursday that was woefully short of basic details, the provincial government and Equinor announced they will proceed with development of the Bay du Nord field in the Orphan Basin. The news release for the event referred to a framework agreement only. Bay du Nord is
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Williams concedes on royalties (2007) #nlpoli
As Bond Papers noted on Thursday, part of the Hebron deal will involve a change to the provincial royalty regime local media are characterising as a concession.The Telegram reported on Friday morning that the province will indeed lower the initial royalty to a flat 1% on gross from an escalating regime that maxed at 7.5% until
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Thank you, Danny Williams #nlpoli
Rob Strong has been a key player in the local oil and gas industry pretty much since the earliest days. He knows what he is talking about.Strong pointed out to VOCM on Wednesday that the Hebron field won’t be the cash cow for the provincial gov…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: More ways to lose than win #nlpoli
“What this province needs is not just someone with the brains to figure out what’s wrong with our economy,” future Premier Kathy Dunderdale wrote in 2002. “What this province needs is someone with the guts to start doing something about it for a change.” Dunderdale’s letter to the editor of
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: No equity? No surprise. #nlpoli
It didn’t take long for Paul Davis to get the comparison he was looking for last week. The Telegram – not surprisingly – offered it up in the editorial on June 17: “Premier Paul Davis pulled a Danny Williams Tuesday,” the editorialist wrote. Davis told the annual NOIA oil and
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: A troublesome and costly pattern #nlpoli
There are so many problems raised by Premier Paul Davis’ zeal to sign an agreement with Statoil for the Bay du Nord that it is difficult to know where to begin. Perhaps the best place to start is with the deal announced the day before Davis’ oil news. The provincial
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: A legacy of secrecy and bad deals #nlpoli
In response to questioning in the House of Assembly last Tuesday and Wednesday, natural resources Minister Derrick Dalley confirmed that the provincial government is in secret talks with Norwegian oil giant Statoil to develop a new field offshore Newfoundland. There’s was nothing in the local media about it until the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Legacy of Faulty Assumptions: Hebron Revisited #nlpoli
Hebron is the last of the four, big, offshore discoveries from the 1980s. It’s due to come into production in 2017 based on a development agreement reached initially in 2007 with the provincial government and finalised in 2008. There’s a potential problem with current production schedule. The topsides fabrication is
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Hebron delayed at least 12 months #nlpoli
CBC news reported on Thursday that the topsides module for the Hebron project won’t be delivered on time. Rather than arriving in 2015 for mating with the concrete base, the entire structure for the living, drilling, and support spaces won’t arrive until sometime in the middle of 2016. The original
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The cost of not doing the math #nlpoli
Natural resources minister Jerome Kennedy admitted over the weekend that he had not done the calculation to figure out if the equity stake in Hebron was worth the cost compared to just a change in the royalty regime. CBC’s David Cochrane put the question to Kennedy after seven minutes or
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Hebron Complications #nlpoli
The partners in the Hebron project sanctioned the development on New Year’s Eve and announced the decision on Friday. The new cost estimate to build the gravity base and bring the oil field into production is $14 million. As CBC noted on Friday, the capital cost estimate for the project
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: How much was that principle in the window? #nlpoli
Sending the third topsides module from Hebron outside the province was “absolutely unacceptable” to Premier Kathy Dunderdale back in June. She was “extremely unhappy” and vowed to “pursue all avenues available” to her in order “to ensure that this very important work stays in Newfoundland and Labrador.” A few months
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: No deal likely on Hebron 3rd module #nlpoli
CBC’s got the story: ExxonMobil will be able to move work related to the Hebron oil project out of Newfoundland within days, as the possibility fades for an agreement to use local fabrication facilities. “We’re not making any real progress, and it doesn’t appear that mediation will solve the issue,”
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Provincial government working Hebron dispute outside terms of benefits agreement #nlpoli
Lots of words came from Premier Kathy Dunderdale and natural resources minister Jerome Kennedy in their dispute over construction of a major module for the Hebron project. What became pretty clear – if you listen - is that the provincial government is trying to squeeze some resolution to the dispute
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: $#*! Jerome said: Hebron Benefits #nlpoli
Hear what comfortable words Jerome! sayeth, back when he was finance minister (December 9, 2008): The $4 billion six-year plan is as much as we can handle right now along with the Vale Inco, Hebron, and then hopefully the Lower Churchill. So we are at capacity, there are not enough
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: More $#*! the Premier said: copper fastened Hebron Benefits #nlpoli
December 16, 2009 Mr. Speaker, their ignorance of this project is staggering, and what is frightening about it is they put this out like they are speaking the truth. Mr. Speaker, we have commitments on a concrete gravity-based structure, a mechanical outfitting, 4.1 million person hours of work; topsides drilling
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: $#*! the Premier said: Hebron Benefits #nlpoli
November 27, 2008: One of the things that I am proudest of – I mean, the benefits that we negotiated under the Hebron agreement have never been seen in this Province before. They are so comprehensive and they are so detailed, but one of the things I am so proud
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Looking beyond the Hebron sandbox #nlpoli
ExxonMobil drew a line in the sand this morning, and the minister and I are here to draw another line in the sand, as far as this project is concerned. Premier Kathy Dunderdale, 21 June 2012 Premier Kathy Dunderdale and natural resources minister Jerome Kennedy spent more than a half
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Kruger Nexus #nlpoli
As an astute reader pointed out in a n e-mail Tuesday morning, the Hebron-Muskrat Falls connection is not really as important these days as the the connection between the future of the Kruger mill at Corner Brook and the plan to develop the Lower Churchill. Manitoba Hydro International noted that
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