Science Response 2018/026

Review of the Environmental Impact Statements For The Flemish Pass Exploration Drilling Project and the Eastern Newfoundland Offshore Exploration Drilling Project

Context

Statoil Canada Ltd. (Statoil), in association with its partners is proposing to undertake an exploration / delineation / appraisal drilling program and associated activities in the eastern portion of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area between 2018 and 2027.

ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. (ExxonMobil) and its co-venturers are planning to conduct a program of petroleum exploration / delineation / appraisal drilling program and associated activities (in the eastern portion of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area over the period 2018 to 2029.

Both Projects require review and approval pursuant to the requirements of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA 2012) as it has been determined that the drilling of a well constitutes a “designated project” under Section 10 of the Regulations Designating Physical Activities. In addition, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) requires a project-specific environmental assessment (EA) be completed for offshore oil and gas activities, pursuant to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Newfoundland and Labrador Act and the Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act (the Accord Acts). It is intended that the EA review process for the Projects will satisfy the requirements of CEAA 2012 and the C-NLOPB’s Accord Acts EA processes. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) have been prepared in accordance with requirements of CEAA 2012, the project-specific Guidelines for the Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS Guidelines [CEA Agency 2016]) issued by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency), and other generic EA guidance documents issued by the Agency as referenced throughout.

On January 9, 2018, the Fisheries Protection Program of the Ecosystems Management Branch in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region requested that DFO Science undertake a review of the specific sections of the Environmental Impact Statements for the Flemish Pass Exploration Drilling Project, and the Eastern Newfoundland Offshore Exploration Drilling Project. While these projects are subject to separate environmental assessments, the proponents have collaborated in the preparation of their EIS Reports and Summaries. As such, the documents share content where relevant. Science Branch undertook a Science Response Process (SRP) for this review. The information from this scientific review will be provided to Ecosystems Management to help form part of the Department’s response to the overall adequacy of the EIS Reports.

• The sufficiency of baseline data and appropriateness of methodologies to predict effects;
• The mitigation measures proposed by the proponent;
• The level of certainty in the conclusions reached by the proponent on the effects;
• The manner in which significance of the environmental effects, as they pertain to DFO’s mandate, have been determined (i.e. the scientific merit of the information presented and the validity of the proponent’s methodologies and conclusions);
• The follow-up program proposed by the proponent; and
• Whether additional information is required from the proponent to complete the technical review.

The information required for this review can be found in a number of sections throughout the EIS reports, and associated appendices. The EIS Reports are available on the Agency’s website at the following links:

• Flemish Pass Exploratory Drilling Project; and
• Eastern Newfoundland Offshore Drilling Project.

This Science Response Report results from the Science Response Process of February 28, 2018 on the Review of the Environmental Impact Statements for the Flemish Pass Exploration Drilling Project and the Eastern Newfoundland Offshore Exploration Drilling Project.

Complete document (PDF, 1,042 KB)

Accessibility Notice

This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.