CP NewsAlert: Equinor postponing Bay du Nord offshore oil project in N.L.

By The Canadian Press on May 31, 2023.

Eldar Saetre, CEO of Equinor, speaking as he gives the company quarterly capital market update in London, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. Equinor is pausing its plans to develop the Bay du Nord oil project, which would open a fifth oilfield off the coast of Newfoundland.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Alastair Grant

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Equinor is pausing its plan to develop the Bay du Nord oil project, which would open a fifth oilfield off the coast of Newfoundland.

The Norwegian energy giant says in a news release that it is postponing the project for up to three years.

The company says the project has seen significant cost increases in recent months, mostly due to volatile market conditions.

The federal government gave the project environmental approval last April, but the company and its partners had not confirmed the full investment necessary for the development.

The company’s website says that before the delay, the Bay du Nord project was forecast to produce first oil later this decade.