Canadian oil company Husky Energy has announced a decision to develop its West White Rose Project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Meanwhile the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed authorizing the take of marine mammals incidental to geophysical surveys in the Atlantic Ocean relating to hydrocarbon development.
Husky Energy is a Canada-based publicly traded energy company. It is the operator of the White Rose field, discovered in 1984 about 350 kilometres east of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, in water depths of about 120 meters. Commercial oil production from the main White Rose field began in 2005; since then, over 275 million barrels of oil has been produced. Husky holds working interests in the main field as well as satellite fields.
The oil and gas industry is the largest contributor to Newfoundland and Labrador's gross domestic production. Husky's May 28, 2017 announcement relates to its West White Rose development. Husky says it and project partners Suncor Energy and Nalcor Energy – Oil and Gas will use a fixed wellhead platform, tied back to the SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. According to Husky, the tie-back to the SeaRose FPSO vessel "will enable the Company to maximize resource recovery," with "incremental operating costs are expected to be less than $3 per barrel over the first 10 years." Husky expects a net project cost of $2.2 billion to first oil in 2022,
and a gross peak production rate of approximately 75,000 barrels per day
(bbls/day) in 2025.
Meanwhile, U.S. regulators have proposed removing one obstacle to oil and gas prospecting in the Atlantic Ocean. The U.S.
National Marine Fisheries Service has published notice of five proposed authorizations for harassment or take of
marine mammals incidental to geophysical surveys in the Atlantic Ocean. The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act allows the Secretary
of Commerce to
permit the incidental, but not intentional, harassment or taking of small numbers
of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity. In 2014-2015, NMFS "received five
separate requests for authorization for
take of
marine
mammals incidental to
geophysical surveys in support of hydrocarbon exploration in the Atlantic
Ocean." The applicants proposed "to conduct
two-dimensional (2D)
marine
seismic surveys using airgun arrays" within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone "(i.e., to 200 nautical miles (nmi)) from Delaware to
approximately
Cape Canaveral, Florida and corresponding with BOEM’s Mid-
and South
Atlantic OCS planning areas, as well as additional waters out to 350 nmi from shore."
NMFS's proposal to issue the incidental take or harassment permits now faces public comment, before a final agency decision.
Energy powers society; society's choices shape energy policy. A blog about our energy resources and the choices they present for society.
Showing posts with label Nalcor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nalcor. Show all posts
New England Clean Power Link proposed
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
A developer of electric transmission lines has proposed a new line that would connect New England to Quebec. The so-called New England Clean Power Link would run about 150 miles from the U.S.-Canadian border to Ludlow, Vermont. While the line shares some features with other proposed ties to the Canadian power grid -- including its development team -- the New England Clean Power Link differs from prior proposals in several regards.
Demand for electricity in the northeastern United States, and in particular for renewable power, has led to interest in developing several transmission lines to Canada. Provincial crown corporation Hydro-Quebec has many large hydroelectric dams, and continues to develop Quebec's rivers for power production. Meanwhile, Newfoundland utility Nalcor is developing gigawatt-scale hydropower on the Churchill River in Labrador, with aims to export the power to eastern Canada and the U.S.
This relative surplus of Canadian hydropower has led developers to propose transmission lines connecting Quebec resources to New England consumers. These lines include the Champlain-Hudson Power Express from Canada to New York City, and the Northern Pass from Canada into New Hampshire.
The $1.2 billion Clean Power Link would have a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, roughly equal to the size of a nuclear power plant. Like previous proposals, the newly-proposed line is motivated by the perceived opportunity to sell Canadian power in New England. The Clean Power Link also shares features in common with other proposals, in that it would be a high-voltage direct current or HVDC line. Notably, it would also be developed and financed by TDI New England, a Blackstone Group subsidiary led by the team behind the Champlain-Hudson Power Express.
Like that line, it would run about 100 miles under Vermont's Lake Champlain. South of the lake, the Clean Power Link proposal features lines buried underground. This contrasts with the Northern Pass, whose traditional wires-on-towers architecture has drawn significant opposition in New Hampshire.
The Clean Power Link faces a regulatory process including environmental and energy permitting, and is also dependent on the market forces that motivated its proposal. It is unclear whether any of the proposed transmission lines to Canada will actually be built, let alone which one. For now, TDI aims to build the line and place it in service by 2019.
Demand for electricity in the northeastern United States, and in particular for renewable power, has led to interest in developing several transmission lines to Canada. Provincial crown corporation Hydro-Quebec has many large hydroelectric dams, and continues to develop Quebec's rivers for power production. Meanwhile, Newfoundland utility Nalcor is developing gigawatt-scale hydropower on the Churchill River in Labrador, with aims to export the power to eastern Canada and the U.S.
This relative surplus of Canadian hydropower has led developers to propose transmission lines connecting Quebec resources to New England consumers. These lines include the Champlain-Hudson Power Express from Canada to New York City, and the Northern Pass from Canada into New Hampshire.
The $1.2 billion Clean Power Link would have a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, roughly equal to the size of a nuclear power plant. Like previous proposals, the newly-proposed line is motivated by the perceived opportunity to sell Canadian power in New England. The Clean Power Link also shares features in common with other proposals, in that it would be a high-voltage direct current or HVDC line. Notably, it would also be developed and financed by TDI New England, a Blackstone Group subsidiary led by the team behind the Champlain-Hudson Power Express.
Like that line, it would run about 100 miles under Vermont's Lake Champlain. South of the lake, the Clean Power Link proposal features lines buried underground. This contrasts with the Northern Pass, whose traditional wires-on-towers architecture has drawn significant opposition in New Hampshire.
The Clean Power Link faces a regulatory process including environmental and energy permitting, and is also dependent on the market forces that motivated its proposal. It is unclear whether any of the proposed transmission lines to Canada will actually be built, let alone which one. For now, TDI aims to build the line and place it in service by 2019.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Bangor Hydro is proceeding with an $8 million investment in smart grid infrastructure, despite not winning federal stimulus funding to support the project. Bangor Hydro plans to build on the company’s existing "advanced metering infrastructure". The utility projects this may add 50 cents to the typical residential bill.
Meanwhile, CMP's $190 million plan to install a new automated meter system at homes and businesses -- which did win $96 million in stimulus funding -- is drawing opposition from members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1837. The union laborers are concerned that the automated meters will lead to 141 layoffs, including 85 meter readers. The Maine Public Utilities Commission is holding a public hearing today in Hallowell on the plan. CMP anticipates installing the meters in 2010 and 2011.
In Canadian news, through government utility Nalcor, Newfoundland and Labrador are commencing legal action against Hydro-Quebec over the Upper Churchill power sales agreements. Under the existing long-term contract, HQ pays one quarter of one-cent per kWh, and one-fifth of one cent for the 25 years starting in 2016 -- less than 5 per cent of the power's commercial value. According to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, in 2008, Hydro-Québec reaped profits of about $1.7 billion from the Upper Churchill hydro dams, while owner Newfoundland and Labrador was paid $63 million. Nalcor will also ask Quebec's Régie de l'Énergie to require HQ to provide access to its transmission system for export of power from the proposed Lower Churchill expansion project.
Also in Canadian news, there's been an odd wrinkle in the HQ acquisition of NB Power. A leaked document suggests that New Brunswick's power transmission and distribution systems are no longer for sale; NB Power would continue to operate as a New Brunswick-owned and operated Crown corporation. The revised deal is reportedly now worth $3.2 billion and would still include hydroelectric facilities and the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant near Saint John, N.B. Under the revision, the 5 year rate freeze for residentials would remain in place, but industrials face a smaller rate reduction. The revised deal was reached by the provincial Liberal government after significant criticism that it, like the Upper Churchill contract, gave too much power to Quebec.
Meanwhile, CMP's $190 million plan to install a new automated meter system at homes and businesses -- which did win $96 million in stimulus funding -- is drawing opposition from members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1837. The union laborers are concerned that the automated meters will lead to 141 layoffs, including 85 meter readers. The Maine Public Utilities Commission is holding a public hearing today in Hallowell on the plan. CMP anticipates installing the meters in 2010 and 2011.
In Canadian news, through government utility Nalcor, Newfoundland and Labrador are commencing legal action against Hydro-Quebec over the Upper Churchill power sales agreements. Under the existing long-term contract, HQ pays one quarter of one-cent per kWh, and one-fifth of one cent for the 25 years starting in 2016 -- less than 5 per cent of the power's commercial value. According to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, in 2008, Hydro-Québec reaped profits of about $1.7 billion from the Upper Churchill hydro dams, while owner Newfoundland and Labrador was paid $63 million. Nalcor will also ask Quebec's Régie de l'Énergie to require HQ to provide access to its transmission system for export of power from the proposed Lower Churchill expansion project.
Also in Canadian news, there's been an odd wrinkle in the HQ acquisition of NB Power. A leaked document suggests that New Brunswick's power transmission and distribution systems are no longer for sale; NB Power would continue to operate as a New Brunswick-owned and operated Crown corporation. The revised deal is reportedly now worth $3.2 billion and would still include hydroelectric facilities and the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant near Saint John, N.B. Under the revision, the 5 year rate freeze for residentials would remain in place, but industrials face a smaller rate reduction. The revised deal was reached by the provincial Liberal government after significant criticism that it, like the Upper Churchill contract, gave too much power to Quebec.
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