Noia Elects New Board of Directors. Shale Gas: Unconventional Plays Offset Declining Production. Chevron s New Partners in the Orphan Basin

Transcription

1

2

3 Contents Noia NEWS CONTENTS ISSN X Spring 2012 Volume 26, Number President s Perspective Last Quarter at Noia Noia Elects New Board of Directors 2012: The Year Ahead Shale Gas: Unconventional Plays Offset Declining Production Chevron s New Partners in the Orphan Basin Report of the Hebron Public Review Commission The Way Forward: Statoil s Lars Christian Bacher Oil & Gas Industry Highlights of the 2012 Federal Budget Funding to Help Young Women enter Trades and Technology Captain Sidney Hynes 2012 s Outstanding Contribution Award Recipient Our Noia - Hibernia Commemorative Scholarship Thank-you to our Sponsors 27 Noia Board of Directors 2012 Chairperson - Michael Critch Noia News Editor in Chief: Deborah Inkpen Vice-Chair - Past-Chair - Treasurer - Directors - Trevor Giles, Technip Canada Tim Lawrence, Oceaneering Canada Ltd. Sean Power, DFB Group Rob Strong, Blue Water Agencies Limited Raymond Collins, PF Collins International Trade Solutions Marty Gaulin, WorleyParsons Canada Services Ltd. John Henley, Cahill Group of Companies Doug Youden, Upstream Solutions Incorporated Paul Dwyer, Schlumberger Canada Ltd. Moya Cahill, PanGeo Subsea Bruce Grant, Stewart McKelvey Editor: Marilyn Buckingham Layout & Design: Leigh-Ann Payne l info@idodesign.ca Contributing Writers: Deborah Inkpen, Kristann Templeton, Beverley Bishop, Moira Baird Published by Noia; Printed by Cansel Wade Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Noia. For advertising call , fax or bbishop@noia.ca Letters and guest articles are welcomed. Submissions must be signed and include your address and telephone number. Noia reserves the right to reject or edit submissions. Editors of other publications may reprint articles from Noia News, with appropriate credit. Contact Noia: noia@noia.ca Box 44, Suite 602, Atlantic Place, 215 Water Street, St John s, NL, Canada, AIC 6C9 Spring

4 President s Report Robert Cadigan President s Perspective p Robert Cadigan - Noia President & CEO Photo: Paul Daly Live for today. Or so the old adage goes. But here at Canada s largest offshore industry we believe in the importance of not only living in the moment and celebrating all the good fortune we have but also keeping our eye on the future. Time flies. And the past few months have been filled with an amazing amount of activity. In January, our 2012 Board of Directors was elected. You can see the full slate on page 7 of this Noia News issue. This group represents your interests and works on your behalf, hand-in-hand with Noia staff, so feel free to contact them to discuss any issues or concerns you wish brought to the Board s attention. In February, Nalcor President and CEO Ed Martin provided a detailed briefing on the Lower Churchill Project to our Board of Directors. Later in the month, Noia made a presentation to the Public Utilities Board Muskrat Falls Review committee in support of the project. While some of our members are focused exclusively on oil & gas activities, most Noia members, particularly our Newfoundland & Labrador members, concentrate on industrial activity resulting from oil & gas, energy and other industrial projects in the construction and development phases and the ongoing activity to support these projects once construction is completed. Many of Noia s members in the construction, fabrication and industrial supply & services sectors will directly benefit from this development so we support the Muskrat Falls option and are confident that Nalcor Energy s analysis is supported by credible consultants specializing in electricity generation decision making. On February 28 th, the Hebron Public Review Commission Report was released. The Commissioner made 67 recommendations and we were pleased to see that a number of the recommendations we made to the Commission were addressed. Noia members have a stake in the responsible development of the province s offshore industry enabling the local business community and workforce to grow 4 Noia News

5 Inc. President s Report Robert Cadigan dynamically with each project and build our expertise and capability to do more work on future oil and gas projects. We believe the recommendations of the Hebron Public Review Commission will help the local industry accomplish these goals. Of late we have been hearing more from the Government of Canada, most notably via meetings with Ministers Oliver, Valcour and Penashue. We eagerly received the news of the amendment to the Coasting Trade Act as well as the streamlining of the environmental regulatory review process for major projects. We believe that both of these long overdue initiatives will go a long way in helping creative a positive environment for development. However, we are watching with great concern the decision to eliminate the Atlantic Canada Investment Tax Credit. This decision will impact the long term competiveness of the offshore industry and we will be expressing our concerns to government at future encounters. We will keep Noia membership informed of our progress. Our cover story on page 8 highlights what s to come this year in oil & gas activity. There s lots of work ahead and as we move through the year, rest assured that Noia will be keeping a close eye on the prize! Robert Cadigan Noia President & CEO ISO Apparel Solutions International Inc. is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of quality safety clothing. ASI serves global markets including: Conventional oil and gas drilling and service Offshore oil and gas Electrical utility & maintenance workers Construction Shipping Stevedoring Transportation NOMEX IIIA Our garments meet or exceed the requirements of many local and International standards including: R ecommendations from CNLOPB Canadian flash fire and electric arc standards CAN/CGSB and CSA Z462 International Standards for flash fire and electric arc flash including NFPA 70E Visibility standards CSA Z96 ASI quality garments available at: North Atlantic Supplies ISO 9001:2008 McLoughlan Supplies Ltd. North Atlantic Supplies Inc. Scope Industrial Spartan Industrial Products Spring

6 President s Report Last Quarter at Noia Q Last Quarter at Noia Q Committees & Meetings February: February 1 to 4 Bob Cadigan attends Northern Lights Conference and Trade Show in Ottawa February 15 Bob Cadigan makes presentation to the Strategic Partnership Council February 16 Bob Cadigan meets with Gerard Dominic of the AET Labour Market February 21 Bob Cadigan and Deborah Inkpen attend the Public Utilities Board Muskrat Falls Review Commission and make a presentation in support of the project February 23 Bob Cadigan makes presentation at the Combined Councils of Labrador AGM in Happy Valley-Goose Bay February 25 First meeting of the 2012 Noia Board of Directors, including presentation by Ed Martin, Nalcor Energy President and CEO, regarding the Lower Churchill Project February 27 Bob Cadigan attends the Launch of Oil & Gas Week 2012 at the College of the North Atlantic February 28 Bob Cadigan, Moira Baird and Terry Hunt receive a briefing on the Bulks Procurement Strategy for the UPM from Andy Harrison of the Hebron Project, Jane Petty of ExxonMobil and Paul Henderson of Worley Parsons February 28 Final Report of the Hebron Public Review Commission released March: March 1 Bob Cadigan and Moira Baird meet with Richard Isnor, Manager Atlantic Regional Office, National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) March 1 Bob Cadigan attends Statoil s event to wish farewell to Hege Rogno and welcome Atle Aadland as Vice-President, Statoil Canada March 12 to 16 - Hebron Supplier Sessions held in St. John s, Clarenville and Corner Brook March 29 Noia Board of Directors Meeting takes place Events & Socials: January 19 - Members Meet the Candidates Networking Social at Dusk Ultra Lounge January 25 - Noia Annual General Meeting and Election of the 2012 Board of Directors at the Sheraton Newfoundland Hotel February 29 - Outstanding Contribution Award Luncheon at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland March 8 - Luncheon with the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources at the Holiday Inn March 14 Annual Society of Petroleum Engineers Luncheon takes place at the Holiday Inn 6 Noia News

7 Inside Noia Noia Elects New Board of Directors Noia Elects New Board of Directors On January 25, almost 300 representatives from member companies of Noia gathered at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland to elect a new Board of Directors and to focus on the year ahead. During the Annual General Meeting portion of the event, new Board of Directors positions were filled for the upcoming year. Michael Critch was acclaimed to the Chair position. Additionally, NOIA members elected Sean Power as its new treasurer and Paul Dwyer, Moya Cahill and Bruce Grant as directors. As incoming chair, Mike Critch welcomed the newly assembled team and charged them with the task of working together for the benefit of industry as a whole. In order for Noia to continue to grow as a proactive organization, serving our members needs, it will continue working with the local service and supply community to ensure members full, fair and equal access to the business opportunities that flow from this province s developments, Mr.Critch commented. We will continue to use supplier information events to provide information on upcoming projects and continue to help showcase our member s capability and capacity, at home and on the world stage, he continued. During the event, members also heard from luncheon speaker Hans Christian Bacher, President of Statoil Canada. Directors who will serve for the coming year are: Chair Mike Critch Fabcon Canada Limited Vice-Chair Trevor Giles Technip Canada Treasurer Sean Power DFB Group Past-Chair Tim Lawrence Oceaneering Canada Limited President & CEO Robert Cadigan Directors Rob Strong Raymond Collins Marty Gaulin John Henley Doug Youden Paul Dwyer Moya Cahill Bruce Grant Blue Water Agencies Ltd. PF Collins International Trade Solutions WorleyParsons Canada Cahill Group of Companies Upstream Solutions Incorporated Schlumberger Canada Ltd. PanGeo Subsea Stewart McKelvey Spring

8 Cover Story 2012: The year ahead 2012: The year ahead Offshore development and production Development of the Hebron oilfield - scheduled to pump first oil by continues. The Hebron Public Review Commission released its report Feb. 28 endorsing the project and making 66 recommendations (See page 20 for details). The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB) will review the commissioner s report in its analysis of the Hebron development application. This year, work at the Bull Arm Fabrication site includes the refurbishing of the existing buildings, upgrading the utilities and roads, building a work camp, installing concrete batch plants and completing the bund wall for the drydock facilities. Work on the drydock facilities started in January following approval of the comprehensive study report, which is part of the environment assessment process. The gravity base structure (GBS) will be built at the drydock in Mosquito Cove before being towed to a deepwater site in Bull Arm, where it will be moored and the topsides modules installed. Project sanction is expected by late 2012 about the same time that construction of the GBS is scheduled to begin. Topsides fabrication is scheduled to start in The Hibernia partners continue to progress work on the Hibernia Southern Extension (HSE) with the project scheduled for completion in q The SeaRose Turret Cover Plate load out in Marystown Photo: Kiewit Offshore Services 8 NOIA NEWS

9 Cover Story 2012: The year ahead Meg O Neill, president of ExxonMobil Canada, gave a synopsis of the project on Jan. 26. Just a few years back, our geoscientists brought advances in something called reservoir connectivity analysis, and applied this novel way of interpreting seismic data to an area south of Hibernia. This led to a successful near-field wildcat drilled from the Hibernia GBS in 2006, O Neill told the St. John s Board of Trade. Today, the Hibernia Southern Extension is a $1.7 billion subsea development with tiebacks to the Hibernia platform. The first of at least four production wells began producing in 2011, ahead of schedule. The development means a significant addition to reserves of over 100 million barrels. Combined with previous additions, HSE will bring Hibernia s recoverable resource to 1.2 billion barrels, more than double the volumes projected at the time of initial project funding in the mid-1990s. With these successes, it is anticipated that Hibernia will continue to produce until the year 2040, 20 years longer than the original project life. p Excavation of the HSE drill centre, which houses subsea equipment, is expected to begin this summer and wrap up during the same season. Installation of the subsea equipment is scheduled for 2013, the same year HMDC starts drilling water-injector wells using a mobile drilling rig. The White Rose oilfield is scheduled to shut down for 125 days starting in late April or early May while the floating production and storage offloading (FPSO) vessel, SeaRose, heads to the Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries drydock in Belfast, Ireland. Husky Energy s work plan includes maintenance on the FPSO s propulsion systems; painting the hull; upgrading the operations and control systems to accommodate current and future production; and regulatory inspections. Before SeaRose begins its 10-day transatlantic voyage, a cover plate will be installed over the moonpool opening in the hull usually occupied by the spider buoy that connects the risers and flowlines to the FPSO. A 250-tonne steel plate was retrieved last summer from the seabed in Mortier Bay where it was stored when the FPSO headed to the White Rose oil field in The cover plate was last used when SeaRose sailed from the Korean shipyard to Marystown seven years ago. This spring, Subsea 7 Canada, which will install the cover plate, will use the heavylift cargo ship Jumbo Vision to collect the cover plate from Argentia, where it was refurbished. Husky continues to assess the wellhead platform also known as the concrete gravity structure (CGS) for the White Rose expansion project. The fixed wellhead drilling platform would enable Husky to drill into the Hibernia formation that lies deep beneath the White Rose field and to fully develop the West White Rose satellite. The company expects to award the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the wellhead platform early this year. Four companies are vying for the work. The company is also still assessing potential locations where it could build the wellhead platform, but has yet to finalize a decision. In the first half of the year, Husky expects to make regulatory Hebron GBS Spring

10 Cover Story 2012: The year ahead submissions that will kick-start the project s environmental assessment process. The GSF Grand Banks returned to the White Rose oilfield in February and completed the water-injector well (E-18-11), the second of the pilot well pair for the West White Rose satellite. Husky is also preparing to drill an exploration well in each of the two exploration licences the company holds off western Greenland in Suncor Energy expects to shut down the Terra Nova oilfield for 21 weeks starting in June. The Terra Nova off station program (OSP) is driven by two major work scopes: replacement of the water-injection swivel, and replacement of the subsea flow lines and risers for H2S (hydrogen sulphide) handling, said Sandy Martin, Suncor s East Coast vice-president. We have also been able to optimize the shut-down to complete other critical maintenance work scopes, all toward the goal of restoring production capacity, preventing future impairments, and optimizing our production reliability going forward. The work includes: Installing a new water-injection swivel in the FPSO at the Marystown yard operated by Peter Kiewit Infrastructure. Maintenance work on pipes, insulation and the main power generator; re-certifying valves and pressure vessels; and other routine maintenance and inspections. Replacing nine 300-metre risers and nine flowlines the flexible pipe connecting the FPSO and well equipment on the seabed in the field. Subsea 7 Canada will install the new equipment using the company s construction and diving vessels, while Wellstream Holdings manufactures and supplies the flowlines. p Terra Nova FPSO Photo: Greg Locke 10 Noia News We ve known since 2006 that the water-injection swivel would eventually need to be replaced at some point, said Gary Vokey, Suncor s manager of off-station projects. Thanks to careful planning and engineering, our onshore and offshore teams have been able to continue operating Terra Nova safely since that time. It s been a great advantage to have time to plan a number of concurrent projects and we will be making the most of our off-station time. When the shutdown is completed, Suncor expects production to resume at two wells that are currently shut-in because of hydrogen sulphide. Suncor also has plans to drill a pair of development wells this year in the Terra Nova oilfield using the rig Henry Goodrich, which headed to a Mississippi yard last year for repairs and upgrades. The company has two well slots for the rig tentatively scheduled in the second and fourth quarters of this year. In January, the company and its partners were issued a significant discovery licence (SDL 1050) for an area located west of the Terra Nova oilfield. While it s early days, Suncor said this is a key area for future development at the field. This is an exciting opportunity, as it allows for the preservation of nine blocks for potential future development, subject to further delineation and any required regulatory development applications, stated a Suncor spokesperson.

11 Cover Story 2012: The year ahead Offshore Exploration Chevron Canada is prepping to drill its third exploration well in the Orphan Basin with new partners Statoil Canada and Repsol E&P Canada. The drillship Stena Carron will return to NL waters in late summer or early fall to spud the next well on the lone Orphan Basin exploration licence (EL 1074R). We ll be using the Stena Carron, said Tim Murphy, Chevron s external affairs manager for Atlantic Canada. The focus for us from an operational point of view is drilling this well at Orphan. The EL in the Orphan Basin is set to expire by mid-january 2013, and Chevron must spud a well before that date. In February, parent company Chevron Corp. announced the second exploration well Lona O-55 drilled in the deepwater basin in 2010 had come up dry. We ve drilled two, with no success, said Bobby Ryan, Chevron s vice president for global exploration. But we ve learned a lot geologically and it s pointing us in a direction that we hope will be the right answer moving forward. Ryan was speaking to investors Feb. 8 at the Credit Suisse Energy Summit in Colorado. The first Orphan Basin well Great Barasway F-66, spudded in 2006 was also dry. Chevron also holds an exploration licence off Labrador, but has no plans for seismic surveys of the area this year. We still have the acreage in Labrador, but there are no plans for activity up there again this year, said Murphy. The focus for us from an operational point of view is drilling this well in Orphan which will take a fair bit of effort. The Stena Carron is currently operating off the Shetlands in the U.K. North Sea. Statoil Canada announced in January it will drill two to four exploration wells starting this fall one dubbed Harpoon West in the Flemish Pass, the other known as Federation to be drilled in the Jeanne d Arc Basin. That program will start autumn this year, Lars Christian Bacher, president of Statoil Canada, told Noia members during the Jan. 25 annual meeting. (See Page 22 for more details on the speech.) p Henry Goodrich Photo: Greg Locke Bacher said Statoil has been drilling wells on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) for more than 35 years and adapting to harsh environments is in our DNA it s in our blood. Statoil s ambition, he said, is to produce 2.5 million barrels of equity production per day by 2020 up from its current production level of approximately two million barrels. To be able to do so, we need an annual growth of around three per cent. For us, the ambition we have for Newfoundland is that Newfoundland growth (in) equity production for Statoil is part of closing that gap. Spring

12 Cover Story 2012: The year ahead Bacher said Canada has the ability to become an oil and gas super power. To so do, he said Canada must be able to unlock the resources, driving down costs of oils and developments, reducing the environmental footprint and getting access to markets in the south and to the west. For offshore Newfoundland, it s about being competitive cost-wise, to do it in a safe manner and environmentally friendly, it s also to unlock the resources by doing more exploration. Bacher was recently appointed as Statoil s executive vice-president for development and production internationally. He takes up his new post Sept. 1. Statoil expects to collect between 4,000 and 5,000 square kilometres of 3D seismic data on two new ELs in the Flemish Pass/North Central Ridge starting in May. Both ELs are west and southwest of Statoil s 2009 Mizzen discovery in the Flemish Pass. Dutch-based Fugro Geoteam will conduct the survey during the second and third quarters of this year. Multi Klient Invest (MKI) expects to return to the Labrador Sea to collect additional 2D seismic data. MKI s long-term plan is to survey the Labrador Shelf, Orphan Basin, Flemish Pass and Jeanne d Arc Basin between 2012 and MKI is a joint venture between international seismic survey companies Petroleum Geo-Services ASA and TGS Nopec ASA. The data will be marketed worldwide. Nalcor Energy also has an interest in the venture, giving the provincial energy corporation licence rights to the survey data. WesternGeco plans to conduct 2D and/or 3D seismic surveys of the Jeanne d Arc Basin between 2012 and It estimates the surveys will take between 60 and 150 days during the May-to-November seismic survey season, according to documents filed with the C-NLOPB. Husky is planning a 4D seismic survey this summer at the White Rose oilfield while the FPSO is in drydock overseas. That survey will help the company assess the reservoir s performance over time since first oil was pumped in West Coast In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Corridor Resources still expects to drill an exploration well at its Old Harry prospect in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this time in the timeframe. That announcement followed a decision by the C-NLOPB to terminate the work of an independent reviewer tasked with assessing Corridor s proposed drilling program. The C-NLOPB will hold environmental public consultations once the Western Newfoundland Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Update is completed in early In October 2011, Corridor received an extension to Period 1 of its exploration licence (EL 1105) from five years to seven years. The EL is now effective until mid-january On Newfoundland s west coast, Dragon Lance Management Corp. and Shoal Point Energy began drilling a sidetrack well (3K-39Z) in February. The companies are following up last year s drilling activity at the Shoal Point 39-3K and are once again targeting the Green Point Shale 12 Noia News

13 Cover Story 2012: The year ahead formation. Dragon Lance is operating the drilling program using the E-Can rig No. 3 for the onshore-tooffshore directional well into Port au Port Bay. Nova Scotia The Nova Scotia offshore land sale netted the highest bid amount ever received in the region: $970 million from Shell Canada for four parcels in deep water off the province s southwest coast. The four exploration licences were issued in March. Sable offshore Energy Project (SOEP) will continue producing from its five natural gas fields: Venture, South Venture, Thebaud, North Triumph and Alma. Deep Panuke operator Encana expects first gas this year. Spring

14 Feature Story Shale Gas Shale Gas Unconventional plays offset declining production As conventional supplies of global oil and gas are being rapidly developed, industry is turning to unconventional resources - fossil fuels that were previously thought of as too difficult and expensive to produce - to replace declining production. Shale gas is one type of unconventional play receiving attention in recent years. a higher concentration of methane molecules. These deposits are usually found in formations with high permeability, such as sandstone, allowing the natural gas to flow readily to producing wells. Unconventional gas is found in other types of rock formations which generally have lower permeability. Shale gas is embedded in shale, a fine-grained sedimentary rock that was originally deposited as clay and silt. Shales are less permeable than many rock formations so natural gas cannot move easily through the rock and into a well. In fact, the pore spaces in shale are 1000 times smaller than those in a conventional sandstone reservoir. While producers have only been focusing on shale in recent years, the resource is not new. Natural gas has been produced from the Appalachian Mountains since the late 1800s. New technologies, notably multi-stage p Aerial shot of Elgin drilling location. Photo: Corridor Resources. What is Shale gas? Conventional natural gas is formed when methane molecules migrate from their original location to an area where they are trapped by an underground geological feature resulting in fracturing (also known as fracking ), combined with horizontal drilling, are making it easier and cheaper to produce shale gas. Each reservoir has unique characteristics requiring testing to come up with the optimal formula for fracking and drilling. 14 Noia News

15 Feature Story Shale Gas Generally, however, the process works like this: The creation of fractures within the reservoir is critical in allowing the natural gas to flow to the well. Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping a fluid or gas down a well to a depth considered appropriate for natural gas production. The pressure causes the surrounding rock to break (fracture). A fluid (usually water with some additives) holding a suspended proppant (usually sand) then flows into the cracks. When the pumping pressure is relieved, the water disperses, leaving a thin layer of the sand to prop open the cracks. These layers acts as a conduit to allow the natural gas to escape from tight (low permeability) formations and flow to the well so that it can be recovered. Horizontal drilling is used in combination with hydraulic fracturing to enhance shale gas recovery. To increase the volume of shale in contact with the well bore, a vertical well is initially drilled from the surface and progressively deviated horizontally through the target rock. The horizontal section of the well bore is usually from 1-3 km long. Horizontal drilling allows the hydraulic fracturing to be concentrated on a single rock unit and considerably increases the volume of fractured material along the well bore. After the fracking, the horizontal and vertical sections of the well bore act as a drain for the gas. Global Shale Gas Resources A United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) commissioned study assessed 48 shale gas basins in 32 countries outside of the United States, containing almost 70 shale gas formations. The report revealed a vast international shale gas resource base; the initial estimate of technically recoverable shale gas resources in the 32 countries examined is 5,760 trillion cubic feet (tcf). U.S. technically recoverable shale gas resources are estimated at 862 tcf. Many countries with shale resource estimates have yet to begin developing these resources. In North America, the U.S. is currently developing some of its large reserves to help offset declining conventional natural gas production. According to the American EIA, during the last decade, U.S. shale gas production has increased fourteen-fold; it now accounts for 22% of U.S. gas production and 32% of total remaining recoverable gas resources in the United States. The EIA projects that by 2030 shale gas will represent 14% of total global gas supplies. There are five major shale basins in the United States from which shale gas is produced. To date, more than 40,000 wells have been drilled. There are seven other shale basins from which there has been no production. A decade of production at the Barnett Shale play in Texas has provided experience and information to help improve the efficiency of shale gas development around the country. The Barnett Shale formation covers approximately 5,000 square miles, and experts suggest that it may be one of the largest onshore natural gas fields in North America. The Barnett Shale has already produced more than 4.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas enough to produce the energy needed to heat every home in Texas for years to come and is expected to produce an additional 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources. Another important play is the Marcellus Shale in the eastern United States (including New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia). The Marcellus shale extends over 575 miles and has a thickness of up to 900 feet. The most recent U.S. Energy Department Energy Outlook report estimates that about 141 trillion cubic feet of gas can be recovered from the Marcellus shale using current technology. Canadian Shale Gas Large scale commercial production of shale gas has not yet been achieved in Canada, although companies are exploring for and developing resources in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and New Brunswick. Despite being difficult to drill, the National Energy Board said in a 2009 report that there is potentially cubic metres (1,000 trillion cubic feet) of shale gas in Canada, if not more. Shale gas production in Canada is primarily from the Cordova embayment and Horn River Basin in northeast British Columbia, where the total resource is estimated by the Canadian Society Spring

16 Feature Story Shale Gas for Unconventional Gas to be almost 20 trillion cubic metres. Wells in this basin are prolific and produce an average initial flow rate of 230,000 cubic metres per day (8 million cubic feet per day) with the top wells ranking amongst the most productive drilled in Western Canada last year. Exploration companies have spent over $2 billion to acquire resource rights in this basin. The production of natural gas from horizontal shale gas wells in the Montney of northeast British Columbia. has risen from zero in 2005 to 376 million cubic feet per day in 2009, and is expected to continue rising. Other prospective areas include the St. Lawrence Lowlands (5.1 trillion cubic metres), Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (2.8 trillion cubic metres) and the Maritimes (3.7 trillion cubic metres). The Colorado Group of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan has been producing natural gas from shale for over 100 years. Because of poor rock conditions and the risk of caving in the wellbore, only vertical wells are planned in the Colorado shale. The potential for shale gas from the Utica Group, located between Montréal and Quebec City near the Appalachian Mountain front, is still in the early evaluation stages. Preliminary work is also ongoing in New Brunswick, with promising initial results. East Coast Canada Corridor Resources is leading the charge to further delineate the shale gas resource in New Brunswick. The junior resource company already has onshore natural gas reserves and production in its McCully Field near Sussex, New Brunswick, as well as discovered crude oil reserves in the Caledonia Field, near Sussex. Future development of shale gas resources 16 Noia News p could be easily tied in to the company s existing processing facilities and to the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline system. Corridor President and CEO, Phil Knoll, says the company has drilled about a dozen wells into the Frederick Brook Shale Formation with phenomenal results. One vertical well, drilled about three years ago in the Elgin area, flowed at a peak rate of 12 million cubic feet/day after undergoing a fracking operation. Aerial shot of frac equipment in Elgin New Brunswick. Photo: Corridor Resources That was one of the most prolific wells out of shale that had been seen at the time, notes Knoll. What we have in New Brunswick is a resource estimate of 67 tcf of gas. That s a huge resource. Noting that shale gas extraction rates are typically 10-20%, Knoll adds that this shale is rich in organics and is amongst the thickest shale beds that have been discovered in North America thus far. But with natural gas prices hovering at very low levels, it may be some time before commercial production of shale gas is seen on a large scale in this part of the country. Corridor is currently looking for a partner to help continue development of the shale resource. We ll continue on a path to develop it but we ll go at a pace that commodity prices allow. The resource isn t going away and we ll move it along as quickly as is warranted, says Knoll. Our job for now is to continue to demonstrate that there is an economic path to a commercial development of our shale in New Brunswick. We re still looking at a few years down the road before it becomes a commercial operation. We have more work to do. Shale resources also exist in western Newfoundland, notably the Green Point Shale formation. This formation has received attention

17 Feature Story Shale Gas because of the presence of tight oil, often referred to as shale oil, because it is contained in a low permeability formation requiring reservoir stimulation similar to that used for shale gas. Patrick Laracy, President and CEO of Vulcan Minerals, a junior exploration company active in western Newfoundland, explains that the term oil shale historically meant shale that contains bitumen or hydrocarbon material that was not yet formed into petroleum. The oil shale had to actually be cooked to produce the oil. That terminology and technique has dwindled over the years but the term oil shale has resurfaced to refer to oil contained in tight or low permeability formations. Although work in this area is in the very early stages, Laracy says the formation has the characteristics of some other oil shales around the world that produce oil and gas. Vulcan currently has a 19% shareholding in NWest Energy Corp., another resource company with a presence in western Newfoundland, which has explored the Green Point area. We ve [NWest] done some preliminary work p on the merits of that formation and everything pointed positively towards doing further investigative work to see if we can extract some oil out of that, says Laracy. NWest recently sold its offshore Green Point Shale interest to Shoal Point Energy, which is already doing work in the area. This deal enables Shoal Point to earn an interest in the project while NWest can retain either a working interest or royalty, depending on how it plays out. Map of Corridor Resources license holdings. Image: Corridor Resources. These rocks have been known about for hundreds of years and they re well documented geologically from a mapping perspective, says Laracy. The big question is how much oil can you extract, if any? And these are very early days in terms of trying to make that assessment. But based on the properties of the rock it is certainly justified to make those initial investments and see what recovery rates could be. Elsewhere in western Newfoundland, tight gas has been discovered in the Bay St. George area. Spring

18 Feature Story Shale Gas Laracy says it is a tight gas play in the sense that it s in sandstone which is a coarser grade rock, with low permeability, so it will probably require some stimulation to achieve maximum flow rates. We know there s gas in that basin in substantial amounts. Again it s a question of recoverability. And of course on the island of Newfoundland, what do you do with natural gas? There s no market there for it currently, states Laracy. One would have to come up with a plan that would require long-term production at sustainable rates and an end user. Successful Shale Gas Plays With low natural gas prices suppressing production around the world, why are some new shale gas plays still being developed? Laracy says it has to do with the type and location of gas currently being produced. He explains that every gas play has a unique combination of liquids rich gas and dry gas. Many of the successful shale developments in the U.S. are currently making money from the heavier (liquid) elements of the gas rather than the dry methane. These larger carbon compounds such as propanes and butanes are valuable in areas where they are in demand, such as the petrochemical industry. Laracy notes that in developments such as the Marcellus Shale in the U.S., these liquids are actually paying for the cost of production so producing the dry gas is profitable, even in a low price environment. Too much liquid content can also cause problems. If these types of resources are located far from end users, the shipping costs can make it uneconomical to produce. It really depends on where you are, says Laracy. Buyers and sellers are going to determine the price of gas in a particular area. You re going to have multiple markets and aberrations in pricing depending on where you are. But at the end of the day the prices will be what the market will determine on a supply and demand basis. Current market conditions are causing many producers to shut in production until demand stabilizes with the supply. Laracy says this trend will change over time as the U.S. economy begins to recover. I think you re going to see relatively low natural gas prices until there is a substantially increased demand for natural gas. I think we have to recognize that the industrial manufacturing sector of the United States is in a great recession and has been for four years and that has cut down on the demand for energy, notes Laracy. I think as the American economy turns around you ll see demand for energy increase and I m sure that most of that demand will lean towards natural gas to the extent possible because natural gas will be the cheapest form of energy available. 18 Noia News

19 Industry News Chevron s new partners... Chevron s new partners in the Orphan Basin Chevron Canada Ltd. is prepping to drill a third exploration well, starting this summer or early fall, in the Orphan Basin where the company holds an exploration licence (EL 1074R). The company expects to use the drillship Stena Carron, which drilled the Lona O-55 well in the same basin in This time, Chevron has new partners for the drilling program. In January, Chevron announced it had reached joint-venture agreements with Statoil Canada and Repsol E&P Canada to explore the Orphan Basin, the Flemish Pass and the Canadian side of the Beaufort Sea. The company has interests in all three regions. These agreements significantly strengthen our exploration position in Atlantic Canada and in the Beaufort Sea and reaffirm our commitment to achieving long-term growth in Canada, stated Jeff Lehrmann, president of Chevron Canada, in a January 12 release. We look forward to working with Statoil and Repsol to achieve exploration success in these highly prospective basins. Statoil and Repsol are new to the Orphan Basin. The January deal gives Chevron a 65 per cent ownership stake in the 604,000-hectare licence in the deepwater frontier located more than 430 kilometres off Newfoundland s northeast coast. Repsol holds a 20 per cent interest, while Statoil has 15 per cent. Previously, Chevron was partnered in the basin with ExxonMobil Canada, Imperial Oil and Shell Canada. These agreements add new acreage to Statoil s already extensive Arctic portfolio, stated Tim Dodson, Statoil s executive vice-president for exploration. Strengthening our position in the Flemish Pass Basin and obtaining early entrance to the Orphan Basin and Beaufort Sea provides us access to large potential resources and increases the optionality of our exploration portfolio. Chevron partnered with Statoil and Repsol in last year s successful bid for a pair of exploration licences (EL 1125 and EL 1126) in the Flemish Pass about 400 kilometres east of St. John s. Statoil is the operator of the ELs and is planning to drill a well dubbed Harpoon East in the basin as part of a twoto-four well drilling program expected to begin this fall. Water depths in the two new Flemish Pass ELs range from 700 metres to 2,600 metres. In the Beaufort Sea, Chevron also holds a 60 per cent interest EL 460, which lies in water depths ranging from 800 metres to 1,600 metres. Statoil has farmed into that EL for a 40 per cent stake. There, the partners have tentatively scheduled a 3D seismic survey for this summer. Spring

20 Industry News Report of the Hebron Public Review Commission Report of the Hebron Public Review Commission The Hebron Public Review Commission team led by Commissioner Miller Ayre released its report in February with 64 recommendations on the Hebron development application. Noia noted it was pleased to see a number of their recommendations to the Commission were addressed in the report. As a condition of the C-NLOPB s approval of the Hebron project, the Commissioner recommends the proponent make significant improvements to the development application. Among the recommendations: That the C-NLOPB make it a priority to issue new guidelines for the standardized and timely publication of expressions of interest (EOIs), pre-qualification results and tender awards for the development phase of the projects. Noia believes this recommendation would provide a more consistent procurement process that would be followed from project to project. That the project proponent vigorously review its pending contract notices to ensure where the capacity of local industry permits, bid packages are scaled to suit that capacity. Noia believes this recommendation will provide local businesses with full and fair opportunity to take part in the Newfoundland & Labrador offshore industry. By issuing smaller bid packages that match the capabilities and capacity of local service and supply companies, small- and medium-sized companies will be able to bid on work they can do. That the Utilities and Process Module (UPM) contract award require the successful yard to supply a detailed breakdown of supplies, services and sub-assemblies for the project, and to locate a representative in the province to encourage local participation in the sub-contracting bid process. 20 Noia News

21 Industry News Report of the Hebron Public Review Commission As a condition to the fundamental decision, that the C-NLOPB require the project proponent to provide assurance that topsides modules defined in the 2008 Benefits Agreement are substantially fabricated in the province. The Commissioner s report also notes the current controversy surrounding the drilling equipment set and where that module will be fabricated. According to the Hebron Benefits Agreement, the drilling equipment set is one of three modules to be built in the province subject to labour and yard capacity. So far, the Hebron proponent has said two of those modules the living quarters unit and the drilling support module will be built in the province. A decision is pending on where the drilling equipment set will be built. That Pool 3, a potential subsea tie-back that could further develop the Hebron oilfield, be excluded from the fundamental decision for the Hebron project. Instead, the Commissioner recommends the proponent submit a separate application to develop Pool 3. The Commissioner also recommended this Pool 3 application include a separate benefits plan. Noia made a similar recommendation in its November 21, 2011 presentation to the Hebron public review session. That the CNLOPB, in consultation with the local supply community and labour, further refine its benefits reporting process to enable direct evaluation of benefits performance against benchmarks outlined in the Benefits Agreement and an updated Benefits Plan. Noia concurs with this recommendation. While the C-NLOPB issued updated guidelines on February 1 which does improve the benefits reporting process Noia believes additional steps are necessary to enable comparisons between targeted benefits goals and actual benefits achievements. Upon release of the report, Robert Cadigan, Noia President and CEO stated Noia supports the Hebron project and is eager to see this offshore development move forward. Noia members have a stake in the responsible development of the province s offshore industry enabling the local business community and workforce to grow dynamically with each project and build our expertise and capability to do more work on future oil and gas projects. We believe the recommendations of the Hebron Public Review Commission will help the local industry accomplish these goals. Spring

22 Industry News Statoil The Way Forward Statoil s Lars Christian Bacher shares his global perspective Statoil is no stranger to global oil and gas industry trends. For years, the Norwegian company has been at the forefront of finding and utilizing new ways to develop oil and gas fields. Among them: horizontal drilling to improve oil and gas recovery; steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) used to improve the flow of oil from oilsands wells; and third-party production to develop smaller offshore fields near existing platforms in the North Sea. Statoil Canada s president, Lars Christian Bacher, shared his insights on some of those trends during a keynote address to Noia members gathered for the association s Annual General Meeting in January. Bacher described the tight-knit relationship among the supplier industry, universities and research and development institutions, and oil and gas companies as a trinity one that has been instrumental to Statoil s success on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) and in developing new technologies. On top of this, you ve had a regulatory regime stable but also adapting and changing according to industry trends and technology development, he told Noia members. 22 Noia News

23 Industry News Statoil It s this partnering in the industry within this trinity, that has led to some of the technology breakthroughs that you see today being adopted and used elsewhere in the world. A 21-year veteran of Statoil, Bacher said the company and its suppliers developed horizontal drilling to produce oil in 1995 from Troll, one of the biggest oilfields in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Statoil in offshore NL Statoil Canada aims to become an operator in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador as part of the company s plan to grow its worldwide production by three per cent annually. Statoil Canada president Lars Christian Bacher said Canada has the potential to become an oil and gas superpower. For oilsands, it s about driving down the cost reducing the environmental footprint, but also getting access to markets to the south and also to the west, he told Noia members on Jan. 25. For offshore Newfoundland, it s about being competitive cost-wise, to do it in a safe manner and environmentally friendly. But it s also to unlock the resources by doing more exploration. p Lars Christian Bacher And one breakthrough usually leads to another. Without horizontal drilling you would not have had SAGD, Leismer would not have been built with SAGD technology today, and horizontal drilling and fracking in the U.S. would never have taken place, either, said Bacher. Operated by Statoil in northern Alberta, the Leismer field started production in January 2011 utilizing steam-assisted gravity drainage, or SAGD. This is the kind of thinking is what we bring when we go international as a company. I expect you guys to push us and we will push you, from the perspective that you re here to learn, share and contribute to move this business forward. The next big trend is likely one that may have a future in the NL offshore: third-party production. One other trend that we see globally is an increased number of tie-ins to a host platform. Bacher said third-party production allows an Statoil has built a substantial portfolio in the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore in recent years. The company is the operator of four significant discovery licences: two are in the oil-producing Jeanne d Arc Basin and two in the Flemish Pass deepwater frontier where Statoil drilled its Mizzen discovery well in It has since drilled a delineation well at Mizzen and is evaluating the results. Following last year s land sale, the company added a pair of Flemish Pass ELs to the stable of five exploration licences it currently operates. Bacher said Statoil s interest in that basin now spans about 8,000 square kilometres. Statoil has also partnered with Chevron in the Orphan Basin, where a third exploration well is in the works for this year, and in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. We will work closely with Chevron to try to do our fair share in making successful stories in those basins, said Bacher. The company will also drill exploration wells in the Jeanne d Arc Basin and the Flemish Pass. This coming program, exploration-wise, we re talking about either two, three or four wells for the time being. We re in the final phase of making up our minds and we are also in the final phase of securing a rig to make that program happen. That program will start autumn this year. Spring

24 Industry News Statoil increasing number of small offshore fields to be developed by tying them into existing production platforms that have excess capacity. Some discoveries, he said, are not big enough to justify a standalone production platform. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate implemented rules in 2006 allowing for third-party use of platforms and pipelines. Since then, Norway has seen third-party production from subsea tiebacks at the Kristin field operated by Statoil and the Alvheim field operated by Marathon Oil. They can really add value for all parties involved, if you tie it into a host platform, said Bacher. This about timing: you can t do it too early, but you can t start doing it too late, either, because that host platform won t be there for you. Third-party production, he said, is an economical way to develop small fields, provide additional production revenue to platform owners, offer new opportunities for service and supply contractors, and generate royalties and income tax for government treasuries. Why do we see this trend? For the owner of the host platform, you get paid for processing third-party volumes and that income will reduce your cost per barrel. It will extend the lifetime of your host platform and thereby also making it possible for you to increase the recovery rate. For those owners of the satellite, they can suddenly utilize their resources, the discoveries they ve made, and make a profit from that. The supplier industry, they get more activity, more jobs, more income and then more profit. For the province, they get to utilize their resources better, but they also get higher revenue from income tax, as well as, royalties. Third-party production also represents an opportunity for the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore oil and gas industry to offset production declines. So, I would like to see this happening more in this province. Some see it as a worry, but I see it as an opportunity to close the decline curve and fight decline curve going forward. Wrapping up his January speech, Bacher employed a hockey analogy to explain Statoil s strategy and Newfoundland and Labrador s place in it. Wayne Gretzky once was asked why are you so good at playing hockey, and he answered it s because I position myself where the puck is going to be. So, if you ask Statoil where are you going to close the production gap? Well, we try to position ourselves where we know the industry is going to be and St. John s and Newfoundland is one of those places. In March, Lars Christian Bacher was appointed Statoil s Executive Vice- President for development and production international. He assumes his new post Sept Noia News

25 Industry News Federal Budget Oil & Gas Industry Highlights of the 2012 Federal Budget On March 29, the Government of Canada brought down its 2012 Budget entitled Jobs, Growth and Long Term Prosperity. Noia supports two of the budgetary initiatives which impact the oil and gas industry. Streamlining the environmental regulatory review process for major projects Issues to be tackled include overlapping areas of federal and provincial regulatory requirements and processes. The budget proposes to set clear timelines, reduce duplication, and focus efforts and resources on large projects where the potential environmental impacts are greatest. The key changes include: Consolidating responsibility for reviews Establishing fixed start-to-finish timelines for panel reviews (24 months), National Energy Board hearings (18 months) and standard environmental assessments (12 months) Reducing overlap and duplication by recognizing provincial environmental assessments as a substitute for or equivalent to federal environmental assessments; transferring decision-making for some permits between federal departments and other jurisdictions. Spring

26 Industry News Federal Budget Delivering consistent approaches to aboriginal consultations by making them part of project reviews, designating a lead federal coordinator for reviews, and coordinating federal-provincial consultations. Supporting oil & gas exploration Under this category, the federal government proposes to amend the Coasting Trade Act. This legislation, which was designed to protect Canadian shipbuilders and ship owners, has unintentionally become a barrier to offshore exploration. Over the years, it has made it almost impossible for multi-client, two-dimensional seismic surveys to be conducted by international companies and their vessels in Canadian waters. The oil & gas industry has lobbied for changes to the Coasting Trade Act for a decade. 2D seismic surveys are the starting point for offshore exploration. The more data obtained, the more exploration wells drilled, and the better chance of new oil & gas discoveries being made. The need to make new offshore discoveries is increasingly important to Newfoundland & Labrador s fiscal and economic wellbeing as oil production from current discoveries declines. Noia, however, is concerned about the budget initiative to phase out the Atlantic Investment Tax Credit (AITC) for the oil & gas and mining industries by This will increase the cost of developing new oil & gas projects on Canada s East Coast and is particularly worrisome for future small-field developments offshore. AITC currently provides a 10-per-cent credit to the oil & gas industry in the Atlantic provinces and the Gaspe region of Quebec for investments in new buildings, machinery and equipment used, for example, in operating wells and extracting petroleum and natural gas. Last year, the federal government started the phase-out a similar tax credit that applies to oilsands producers. 26 Noia News

27 Diversity Funding to help young women... Funding to help young women enter Trades and Technology Developing a diverse workforce has been identified as key to meeting the region s growing labour demands. Today, women make up approximately 50% of the Newfoundland & Labrador labour force, yet the Women in Resource Development Corporation (WRDC) says they represent less than 7% of the workforce in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations. To tap into this under-utilised labour pool, many organizations and programs are working to attract women to the trades and technology sector. A recent funding announcement will go a long way towards helping this cause. The Hebron and Hibernia projects will provide a total of $200,000 to create two scholarship funds for young women who are interested in exploring trades and technology occupations in the natural resources sector. The funds will help support women aged 17 to 22 enrolling in the Techsploration Orientation to Trades and Technology Program (TOTT) delivered by College of the North Atlantic and administered by WRDC. WRDC just celebrated 10 years of the Techsploration program and to have scholarships provided to give young women opportunities to learn more and get experience in the skilled trades and technology fields is absolutely terrific, said Mary Clarke, director of WRDC s Techsploration program. TOTT is a 13-week program that gives recent female high school graduates exposure to natural resourcebased industries. The program covers academic requirements, essential work skills, personal and professional development, hands-on skills training in various skilled trades and technology fields, t Photo courtesy of WRDC Spring

28 Diversity Funding to help young women... background on the natural resource sector, labour market research and job shadowing. Techsploration provides young women with opportunities to explore trades, technical and technologyrelated occupations and is inclusive of all girls from various academic and cultural backgrounds and provincial in scope. Hebron s goal is to create a strong and diverse workforce locally. We can help achieve this by encouraging young women to explore the varied aspects of working in the natural resource sector, said Geoff Parker, Vice President of ExxonMobil Canada Properties and Hebron Senior Project Manager. Through this investment the Hebron Project will continue to support diversity, which leads to a longterm competitive advantage in our industry. Career choices for young people are often limited by career options they have seen first-hand, said Jamie Long, President of Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. TOTT allows young women to explore a wide variety of trades and technologies, thereby increasing their familiarity with a range of options open to them. The TOTT program provides the necessary tools and strategies to help increase women s awareness of career opportunities in the trades and technologies industry, said Ann Marie Vaughan, President of College of the North Atlantic. Sometimes the hardest decision for youth to make is the one that embarks them on their future - and making the right decision depends on the individual. This investment will allow the college to offer that opportunity to these young women, which is the first step towards a promising career. We are very fortunate to be part of this partnership with WRDC, Hebron and Hibernia. 28 Noia News

29 Inside Noia Noia s Outstanding Contribution Award p Outstanding Contribution Award recipient Captain Sidney Hynes Captain Sidney Hynes 2012 s Outstanding Contribution Award Recipient Noia celebrated Oil & Gas Week 2012 with the presentation of its Outstanding Contribution Award to Captain Sidney Hynes at a luncheon on February 29 th. Held at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland, more than 200 people gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of this true pioneer in the development and growth of the offshore industry in our province. Captain Hynes 35 year career in the offshore and marine transportation environment spans the private, public and academic sectors. He has an excellent record of responsibility for multi-faceted projects and a wide experience from Seaman to Master to Owner, President and Chairman. A Master Mariner who received his initial training at the Fisheries College, now the Fisheries & Marine Institute of Memorial University, Captain Hynes began serving in senior levels onboard offshore vessels supporting early drilling efforts off the coast of Labrador in the 1970s. He became the first Canadian Diving Support Vessel Master and served as Master for the team which successfully completed one of the most complex diving operations attempted in the North Atlantic. Max Ruelokke, Chair of the Canada-Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, worked closely with Sid Hynes in the early days of the offshore. During a videotaped tribute to Captain Hynes and his contributions to the industry which was shown during the luncheon, Mr. Ruelokke applauded his abilities, commitment and work ethic. He s totally committed to success. If that means he has to work 24/7, then he ll work 24/7. The combination of perception, dedication and high intelligence are not always found together, but they certainly reside in Sid. During his offshore employment, Captain Hynes worked for all the major oil companies and established a good liaison with all. He also served with the Ship Safety Branch of Transport Canada as an offshore surveyor. As President of Canship Limited, a company he founded in 1986, he operated a wide variety of vessels worldwide. After forming a joint venture with the JJ Ugland group of Norway, he became Chairman of Canship Ugland Limited, a company formed to operate three shuttle tankers on the Grand Banks. In 1992, after the collapse of the fishery, Captain Hynes initiated a training program that resulted in 150 former Newfoundland fishermen being employed onboard these new 100% Newfoundland crewed shuttle tankers. Spring

30 Inside Noia Noia s Outstanding Contribution Award p Bob Cadigan, Award Recipient Captain Sidney Hynes, and Jack Lawlor Glenn Blackwood, Vice-President of Memorial University (Marine Institute) comments during the tribute video that Captain Hynes is very much a Newfoundlander who has done well, but he hasn t forgotten where he comes from and he hasn t forgotten that part of his role is assisting other people. He s really positioned Newfoundland & Labrador, and - through us, with job placements - a lot of people from Newfoundland & Labrador to the point that now (the offshore industry) is a major part of our economy and we have a large number of people working in that sector. He has been that lead person in that sector for the past years. Ches Penney, owner of the Penney Group of Companies and a long time business associate, adds, in reference to Captain Hynes leadership at Canship Ugland, The face of the company and the management of the company and the people who work for the company... are nearly 100% Newfoundlanders. That was largely through the efforts of Sid Hynes. Captain Hynes also successfully negotiated the only known 25 year term labour union agreement covering the Hibernia shuttle tanker operations. In 2000, Captain Hynes was appointed by the Government of Canada to manage Marine Atlantic, the largest Crown Corporation in Atlantic Canada. In 2007, he led a consortium which acquired Oceanex, and today serves as its Executive Chairman, focusing his energies on making this company the most successful transportation provider in Eastern Canada. In 2009, a new division formed under Captain Hynes direction Oceanex Offshore - formed a joint venture company with Stena Drilling PTE Limited of Aberdeen. This new company, Stena Drilling (Canada) Corp., provides highly qualified Canadian operations personnel to support Stena Drilling in their worldwide operations in Eastern Canada, Brazil, Greenland, Egypt and Scotland. As a volunteer, Captain Hynes is actively involved with Memorial University s Fisheries and Marine Institute as long time Chair of its Industry Advisory Committee and is also a member of the Canadian Coast Guard Marine Advisory Committee. In the past, he has served as a member of the Advisory Board for the Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, Chairman of the Transport Ministerial Committee to review the Marine Atlantic Ferry Service and as a director of many private companies, including the Marystown Shipyard. On February 29 th, Captain Hynes accepted his Outstanding Contribution Award from Jack Lawlor, Chair of Noia s OCA Committee. Those who were unable to attend the luncheon can view the tribute video on Noia s website at 30 Noia News

31 Inside Noia Noia-Hibernia Commemorative Scholarship Recipient Our Noia-Hibernia Commemorative Scholarship p Scholarship recipient Christopher Tubrett; Bruce Grant, Noia Board of Directors; and Bob Cadigan, Noia President & CEO 1997 was a big year for the oil & gas industry: the Hibernia project was successfully completed, hauled out to sea, and started drawing oil. The Noia-Hibernia Scholarship Fund was established to commemorate that landmark year. The annual scholarship awards $1,000 to a graduating high school student in Newfoundland and Labrador. The recipient of the award is a student who is entering post-secondary studies and intending to pursue a petroleum-related career and best meets the academic and extra-curricular criteria for the scholarship. The 2012 Noia-Hibernia Commemorative Scholarship recipient is Christopher Tubrett. Christopher graduated last year from Roncalli Central High School in Avondale and received academic merit awards in math, chemistry, science, and skilled trades. He is an avid sportsman, having received MVP awards in volleyball, badminton, and cross country running. He served as the President of the Student Council while in Grade 12, and also has been involved in several event committees in his school and home community of Holyrood. He is currently pursuing an Engineering degree at Memorial University. Christopher received his scholarship from Noia Director Bruce Grant at Noia s Oil and Gas Week Outstanding Contribution Award Luncheon on February 29. Spring

32 Industry News Header To Go Here 32 Noia News

33 Industry News Header To Go Here Spring

34 Industry News Thank you to our sponsors Thank you to the sponsors of our Annual General Meeting Thank you to the sponsors of our Outstanding Contribution Award Luncheon 34 Noia News

35 Industry News Header To Go Here Spring

36 Industry News Header To Go Here When supply and service is critical to the job Port ability matters. Working on the East Coast of Canada can present its own unique challenges, and the Port of St. John s is always ready with solutions that are both economical and efficient. We like to think of it as our port ability. Our superb location is just one part of a growing transportation hub with advanced infrastructure and an unparalleled commitment to ensure that the Port of St. John s remains one of the most accessible and flexible marine service centres in Canada. We have the largest and most advanced marine base in Atlantic Canada; world-class facilities capable of constructing and shipping subsea equipment; and, a state-of-the-art dockside Fluid Manufacturing Facility at Pier 17. The port is also home to the province s only applied research organization exclusively dedicated to the oil and gas industry; as well as the province s primary container terminal. Check out our new web site: With all of this foremost in our minds, the Port of St. John s understands that an efficient port should be able to adapt to the unique situations of its users. The ST. John S PorT AuThoriTy 1 Water Street, St. John s, NL, Canada Tel: (709) / 36 Noia News