Equinor is starting off 2021 on a new foot compared to the previous year, having shifted its entire Canadian operation to the East Coast.
The Norwegian company closed its Calgary office at the start of the new year, a move first announced last August when the company said it would consolidate leading up to 2021 and operate out of a single office in St. John’s.
In a statement to The Telegram, a spokeswoman for Equinor Canada noted the company has committed to ceasing all evaluations of onshore energy opportunities and shifted its business strategy to focus on offshore assets in Atlantic Canada, almost all of which are in Newfoundland. According to a Financial Post article, the company sold its last Western Canadian oilsands asset to Athabasca Oil Corp. in 2017.
“The decision to consolidate offices was made to improve organizational efficiencies in our Canadian business and align with our updated Canada business strategy,” the spokeswoman said.
The company had 120 employees split fairly evenly between the two offices prior to consolidation and expected to eliminate approximately 30 per cent of its permanent workforce. While the Calgary office has closed, the company is keeping a small downstream commodity marketing and trading business active in the Albertan city. The spokeswoman said there were reductions at both the Calgary and St. John’s offices as a result of the previously announced consolidation.
“At the end of the process, we will see a higher number of employees in St. John’s due to the relocation of roles, but are unable to provide specific numbers on personnel,” the spokeswoman said.
Offshore projects
The company holds minority stakes in the Terra Nova, Hebron and Hibernia offshore projects and has a number of other prospects in the works, most notably Bay du Nord. That project has an estimated 407 million barrels of recoverable oil. Holding a majority stake in the project, Equinor announced a $6.8-billion plan in 2018 to develop Bay du Nord, but last spring it deferred that project due to low oil prices and industry uncertainty linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last fall, Equinor announced two new discoveries in wells at the Cappahayden and Cambriol prospects. Earlier this month, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) announced a 40-million-barrel estimate for the company’s Harpoon discovery which, similar to the Cappahayden and Cambriol prospects, is located in the Flemish Pass Basin.
In a statement issued to The Telegram, Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industry Association (Noia) CEO Charlene Johnson said she is pleased to see the company remains committed to its operations in the province.
“Noia is encouraged that Equinor is committed to the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore and is headquartering its Canadian operations here. Our members are extremely optimistic for the Bay du Nord project and combining this with recent announcements of discoveries at the Cappahayden and Cambriol wells, a reserve update by the C-NLOPB for Harpoon, and permission by the Impact Assessment Agency to explore the Central Ridge Basin, is encouraging news for our offshore.”
With files from the Financial Post
Andrew Robinson is a business reporter in St. John's.
