Life support of $ 41.5 million given to West White Rose, but no guarantee oil projects will be restarted

The money comes from the Government’s Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Fund and is the first project to get financial help from that source.

The $ 41.5 million is half of the total cost of the project, and Husky Energy will kick it in the other half.

Furey said work related to the project will take place in 2021 and will mean 331 jobs. Specifically, there will be 169 positions in project management and engineering, and 162 traders in Argentia and Marystown.

The money is keeping the project alive – one of the largest offshore operations in Newfoundland and Labrador – for now. It is known as “hot suspension” and is only an option, not a certainty, that the project will fully recover.

“A nice Christmas surprise”: O’Regan

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan, speaking after Furey at the press conference, called the announcement “a heck of a Christmas surprise for Newfoundlands, Labradors and their families.”

“We believe in our workers, we believe in this industry and we believe in its future,” added O’Regan.

He said it was not simply a “government subsidy” but instead called it a “strategic investment”.

O’Regan admitted that it would not be a completely smooth road in the months to come, as the pandemic is still in turmoil.

“Spring is coming and vaccines are coming, but we have a hard winter ahead,” he said.

A “first step back in the right direction,” says Husky VP

Jonathan Brown, Husky’s senior vice president for the Atlantic region, said the announcement will put the project in a better position for a reboot in 2022, allowing it to maintain the project’s capacity and skilled workers in the province.

“This is the first step back in the right direction for the White Rose project,” Brown said. “But one of the many steps still ahead.”

Brown said the announcement is positive news in what has been a “year of tough decisions” on the project, which has suspended construction until 2021.

He said work in Marystown will continue on projects such as lifeboats, helipads and a flared tower, while the maintenance and conservation program will continue in Argentia.

Latest development in a roller coaster ride for workers, project

That oil and gas industry recovery fund was announced on September 25, with the federal government allocating $ 320 million for the Dutch government to be distributed to support direct and indirect employment in the sector.

The premier has appointed a task force of the same name, chaired by Bill Fanning and Karen Winsor, also present for today’s announcement.

The announcement is the latest development in a saga that began in April when Husky announced that it would stop building the project as the global pandemic hit oil markets.

Hundreds of workers have been laid off.

At the time, the project was nearly 60% completed, with major works underway at the Port of Argentia and a manufacturing plant in Marystown.

In October, Husky said construction was also canceled for 2021.

That news came just days after Cenovus Energy announced it would buy Husky Energy in a deal worth nearly $ 4 billion.

In a statement, Cenovus said of the Husky’s operations in the province “the WWR [West White Rose] is the key to extending the life of the White Rose camp. As we said earlier, all options are on the table and accelerating abandonment remains a possibility. “

Husky asked both the federal and provincial governments for money to save West White Rose, but both governments rejected the company’s proposal to buy a stake in the project.

Newfoundland and Labrador, through its Crown corporation Nalcor Energy, already owns a five percent stake in the project.

Meanwhile, Ottawa has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to support offshore workers, and Husky said he is trying to get some of that to go to White Rose.

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