Atlantic Canada and the Canadian Arctic: Canada’s Next Big Play

Atlantic Canada finds itself in interesting times, and the threat of economic instability including reduced revenue from impending US tariffs, has got the government bodies in that area exploring ways to diversify their income to protect their economy from collapse. Seeing some of the success on the other side of the country, the Atlantic Canadian (AC) governments look to follow the Pacific in broadening their scope to kickstart the next stage of Canadian energy development.

Recently, the Nova Scotian premier suggested lifting moratoriums along the coast to enable exploration and allowing fracking for natural gas. Industry publications called the premiere’s announcement a move to create the Next Great Energy Frontier, and believe with hydraulic fracturing alone, the reserves in Atlantic Canada represent a current market value of $186–$221 billion dollars. Although there are many hurdles besides the moratoriums, we cannot deny that Atlantic Canada’s potential to be a super region for Canadian energy is palpable.

The recent attention on Atlantic Canada is because of the current political climate, but for those in the energy industry, this is an awakening to great potential that we always knew was there. Atlantic Canada produces low-carbon offshore oil, is the home of Canada’s largest oil refinery, and is where Canada’s first LNG terminal for import calls home. In Nova Scotia, the first onshore well was drilled in 1869, and things really picked up in 1969 with the discovery and development of the Cohasset-Panuke oilfield. Subsequently, the Sable and Deep Panuke gas fields produced until they were shut down in 2018. 

Offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, the Hibernia platform began producing oil in 1997 and along with the Terra Nova, Hebron and White Rose fields are currently in operation, illustrating the continuing investment in this area. More recently ExxonMobil were granted approved for Hebron field amendments in December 2023, and Cenovus will be installing a new platform for the West White Rose field which will produce 80,000 barrels per day starting in 2026.

GDM Data shows that Atlantic Canada has an impressive list of multi-national oil companies who although have left some areas in Western Canada, are still holding out for the east coast to produce. BP Canada, Equinor and ExxonMobil dominate in Newfoundland and Labrador in land holdings. In Nova Scotia, leaders include ExxonMobil, Shell, and Imperial Oil. You can see in the chart below the number of Exploration Licensed (EL) acreages they have, hectares they hold, and what Significant Discovery Licenses (SDLs) they hold. These are impressive numbers betting that a currently semi-dormant region will soon awaken and provide great financial returns.

Note: This is a subset of data and only shows the top 5 holders in Atlantic Canada.

Although the spotlight is focused primarily on Atlantic Canada, the same story can be told in the Canadian North. There is a legacy of Canadian companies working throughout the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut, both onshore and offshore, ranging from the biggest names in the business to smaller operators and interest holders. BP Canada, Shell, Suncor, and Imperial Oil are just a few of the large producers invested in region. Like Atlantic Canada, while current operational work may be relatively subdued, all that’s needed are the right conditions for the region to reignite and thrive.

Note: The number of Facilities and pipeline length in each region, on and offshore.

With Atlantic Canada coming back into the news, we here at GDM are interested to see how it all unfolds. Our long-standing experience in this area dates to 1997 when a group of oil companies reached out to GDM to build a database, now GDM’s Frontier Land Database. Because there were challenges in collecting what limited data was available, and more importantly, to summarize and add value to the data making it consumable for exploration, companies relied on GDM to do what we do best; translate raw data into something meaningful.

GDM’s Frontier Land Database continues to be the most comprehensive and detailed source of active oil and gas lease data available for areas in Canada outside the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. While some provincial and federal regulators provide their data in different formats, GDM provides all this data together in one database. We can say confidently that no other data provider out there understands the information to the accuracy level that we have developed.

Should these bold plans from governing bodies turn into action, GDM is ready to help companies make those critical decisions on how to move forward in Atlantic Canada to create the next big thing in energy development. For more information on GDM’s Frontier Land database, please contact us.

_{Photo Credit: hibernia.ca}