Dr. Angela Carter
Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo.

Max Ruelokke
Retired Deputy Minister and Consultant, Former Head of the Canada NL Offshore Petroleum Board.

Ashley Fitzpatrick
Journalist and former Fellow, Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting.

Oil and gas is a big part of the provincial economy: $23 billion in royalties and investment has been put into NL oil and gas between 1998 and 2019. In the 2021 provincial budget, public revenues from offshore oil royalties were slotted at roughly a billion dollars. There’s around 7000 to 8000 people who are currently employed, either directly or indirectly, in support of offshore oil and gas. About 15 to 16% of recent provincial revenues was estimated to come from offshore oil and gas 23.

Winding down or immediate pivot: While there is general agreement that focus must shift away from oil and gas and towards renewable energy and the economic opportunities those present, the key dividing point is how fast the real transition could and should happen.

It is important to get past taking sides: Everybody needs to focus together on how to create a future that protects the provincial economy (good jobs for people and stable communities) and that aligns with a climate safe future for our kids.

What about “low-carbon” oil?: While some argue that NL produces clean “low-carbon” oil, others say this argument is flawed. Consideration needs to be given to the location of oil and gas exploration and development in NL since it overlaps with marine areas with extreme ecological and economic value. While it is true emissions associated with extraction of oil here are lower in some instances, this calculation does not consider any of the GHG emissions when extracted oil is used.

A Just Transition takes two parts – the wind down, and the wind up: This means committing to continuing to manage production safely and responsibly through end life, redirecting supports and subsidies from oil to low-carbon activities, supporting workers as industry changes; and on the wind up making sure we have access to our share of the Federal Just Transition Fund to improve the energy sector, increase the level of electrification in our transportation systems, improve infrastructure for climate adaptation, and more.

Can improvements to production make a difference?: There is much research activity related to making NL oil and gas less harmful to the environment. The two primary sources of GHGs from offshore production are flaring of associated gas and the use of gas to fuel the turbines that provide power to producing fields. Operators must spend a small percentage of revenues on research and development to decarbonize production