Equinor touts lower-carbon strategy as it inches closer to launching Bay du Nord project

Norwegian energy giant Equinor is sending some strong signals that it plans to move ahead with the on-again, off-again Bay du Nord development in Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore, with ambitions to make it Canada's lowest-emitting oil project.

The latest sign of progress came last week, with the man in charge of the company's international exploration and production sector making his way to St. John's, and mingling with industry leaders in the provincial capital.

In his only media interview during the visit, Al Cook gave a timeline as to how the rebooted — and vastly bigger — oil project might be developed.

Cook said design work is ongoing, to expect a final investment decision within the next two years, and first oil by about 2028.

"The fact that we're here and we're working forward on it I think is a really strong signal we intend to develop this project. We are committed to moving it forward," he told CBC News during an interview at the company's offices in downtown St. John's.

Cook made his way to St. John's after attending the COP26 United Nations climate summit in Scotland, where delegates debated ways to take action against climate change and reduce greenhouse gases, including those emitted by the oil and gas industry.

But instead of keeping a low profile about Equinor's ambition to establish N.L.'s fifth producing oil field, Cook was speaking boastfully about how Bay du Nord can help both Canada and Equinor — Norway's largest energy company — achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Cook said Equinor's goal is to make Bay du Nord the lowest-emitting oil project in Canada.

"If we can live up to that aspiration, I think we can clearly say that for as long as the world needs oil and gas, developments such as Bay du Nord will be key to doing that — to meeting that need in the lowest carbon way possible," he said.

"One day the world will no longer need fossil fuels. But until that day, we believe it's vitally important that we focus on how that oil and gas is developed. Namely, with the lowest emissions possible."

Just over three years ago, Bay du Nord appeared to be on an unstoppable path, with a development agreement announced in St. John's with Equinor promising to open a new frontier in the province's oil and gas industry.

But the global pandemic sent shock waves throughout the industry, and Equinor announced nearly 20 months ago that it was deferring the project in order to make it more viable in the face of then-collapsing oil prices.

The Bay du Nord business case changed late last year, however, after Equinor announced that an exploration campaign had uncovered two more oil discoveries in the area that Cook described as a "breakthrough" for Bay du Nord.

"Those are the ones that gave us sufficient volumes to say we believe we can have the potential to move this project forward," he said.