Conflict over the Hebron Development

• Main Author: Leah Fusco
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ben Nevis; Canada; Hebron; Newfoundland; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.545.3819; http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~oilpower/documents/Hebron development-1.pdf

Discussions between the Newfoundland and Labrador government and a group of oil companies who hoped to develop the Hebron Ben-Nevis oil field, in the northwest Atlantic off Newfoundland have come to an end without reaching an agreement regarding the development of the field. This is the second time plans to develop the Hebron field have stopped. The first was back in 2002 when oil prices were too low to make it a financially viable project. This round’s halt resulted from the inability of the government and the oil companies to reach a mutually agreeable development plan. The Hebron oil field was first discovered in 1981 and is thought to hold approximately 700 million barrels of oil. The field is operated by Chevron, which holds 28 % ownership in the project. ExxonMobil is the majority owner with 37.9%. Other owners are Petro-Canada with 23.9 % and Norsk Hydro with 10.2%. The Hebron field consists mostly of heavy crude oil, which is more expensive to extract and sells for less than the oil from currently producing fields in the province.