At the annual meeting of the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil Industries Association (NOIA) on Tuesday Premier Danny Williams told those in attendance that he's hopeful a deal for development of the Hibernia South oil field will be reached by the end of the year and he that expects to see a final contract on the larger Hebron oil development within a matter of weeks.
"We are moving closer, day by day, to signing that deal," Williams said.
"Both sides are working vigorously to conclude what has been an intense yet productive — and I mean very productive — negotiating process".
"I am fully confident that we will have positive news on that front in the very near future."
The Hebron oil development was a point of major disputes between industry partners and the Newfoundland and Labrador government just over a year ago when Williams informed the partners that his government wanted an equity stake and a richer royalty regime. After months of silence the oil companies returned to the table and, after agreeing to many of William's terms, last August a memorandum of understanding was signed. According to Williams, the final step in the process, before the project begins is now in the offing.
There had been rumors circulating for several days that the Premier would announce a final deal on the Hebron project during his address today but the Premier down played those rumors late last week by saying that he had indeed been shooting for this date but had no intention of rushing the details of the contract in order to accomodate it.
Both Hibernia South, estimated to contain 223 million barrels of oil and the Hebron field, estimated at around 750 million barrels, are long awaited developments that, when combined with the existing operations at the main Hibernia platform, White Rose and Terra Nova are expected to provide a major boost to Newfoundland and Labrador's already growing economy.
After Premier Williams' speech Glenn Scott, president of ExxonMobil Canada, a partner in both the Hebron and Hibernia projects, said, "I think we're all aligned and, you know, with everyone aligned and working as hard as they can, I think it's going to move quite quickly".
