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### Viewing cable 08HALIFAX58, NEWS FROM ATLANTIC CANADA'S ENERGY SECTOR

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08HALIFAX58 | 2008-08-11 19:07 | 2011-04-28 00:12 | UNCLASSIFIED | Consulate Halifax

`

    VZCZCXRO8134
    RR RUEHGA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
    DE RUEHHA #0058/01 2241946
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 111946Z AUG 08
    FM AMCONSUL HALIFAX
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1320
    RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0552
    INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
    RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
    RUEHHA/AMCONSUL HALIFAX 1408

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HALIFAX 000058

    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR WHA/CAN, EB/ESC/ISC
    USDOE FOR IA (DEUTSCH)

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: EPET ENRG PGOV CA
    SUBJECT: NEWS FROM ATLANTIC CANADA'S ENERGY SECTOR

    REF: HALIFAX 0045

    HALIFAX 00000058  001.2 OF 003

    --------
    SUMMARY:
    --------

    ¶1.  With annual energy exports from Atlantic Canada to the
    United States now exceeding $14 billion, the region is poised to
    become an even more important energy supplier in the future.
    This cable reports on the latest developments across the region.
     Overall, it has been a busy summer with good and bad news from
    Nova Scotia's offshore sector.  The province received its first
    cash from a new federal-provincial offshore agreement, but it
    also received money from penalties levied against three
    companies for not fulfilling their exploration commitments.
    While that was a stinging example of the slowdown in offshore
    exploration, there was some good news as two U.S. companies were
    the successful bidders for offshore parcels near Sable Island.
    There is also new optimism in Nova Scotia's onshore oil and gas
    sectors.  In LNG news, the Quoddy Bay LNG project has been
    delayed while Newfoundland-Labrador's Grassy Point LNG project
    has received provincial approval.

    ¶2.  In other energy sectors, parties interested in developing
    the Churchill Falls project now know the guidelines that will be
    used to conduct the environmental assessment of the project.
    Work on New Brunswick's Point Lepreau nuclear power plant
    refurbishment project is on schedule and the province is seeing
    some new export possibilities with the proposed expansion of the
    Maine power grid. At the same time, New Brunswick officials are
    pondering the merits of turning to the private sector to develop
    new power generation projects rather than involving its
    financially-strapped utility.  Nova Scotia's utility,
    investor-owned Nova Scotia Power Inc., has a new CEO, who takes
    over the helm at a time when there is new emphasis in the
    province on developing alternative power sources.  END SUMMARY

    --------------------------------------------- -------
    Good and Bad News from Nova Scotia's Offshore Sector
    --------------------------------------------- -------

    ¶3.  The government of Nova Scotia released a budget update on
    August 5 to include new money from its offshore sector.  The
    province just received $234.4 million from the federal
    government as a result of an agreement both levels of government
    signed on June 13 that ended a decades-long dispute over
    offshore payments.  This issue began in 1986 when Nova Scotia
    gave up its right to any provincial (Crown) share of offshore
    projects on the assurance that the federal government would
    compensate the province for doing so.  The compensation plan
    never materialized, and after years of political wrangling, in
    January 2008, both levels of government agreed to appoint a
    joint panel to settle the issue.  The panel eventually worked
    out an agreement that will give the province $870 million -
    $234.4 million upfront, with the rest to be paid out over 15
    years.  Furthermore, the funds will be excluded from any
    equalization payments the province will receive from Ottawa, a
    contentious factor in previous attempts to resolve the issue.

    ¶4.  Nova Scotia also got another $107 million in extra cash from
    its offshore, although not the way provincial politicians and
    industry stakeholders had hoped.  On July 28 ExxonMobil Canada,
    Marathon Canada and Imperial all let their exploration licenses
    expire which saw them pay the province $107 million in penalties
    for not having fulfilled their drilling commitments.  That
    leaves just three companies holding exploration licenses but
    none are actively engaged in exploration work:  Canadian
    Superior, BepCo Canada and EnCana.  BP Canada and Chevron also
    hold acreage but it is on the Canadian side of Georges Bank in
    the Gulf of Maine, an area under a federal-provincial
    moratorium.  There was some good news on July 10, however, when
    two U.S. companies, partners Ammonite Corporation and Catheart
    Energy, were the successful bidders for two offshore exploration
    parcels near Sable Island.  Under the terms of their bid, the
    companies are committed to spending $103 million and $114
    million respectively in the search for hydrocarbons.  Ammonite
    is a small, private petroleum exploration company headquartered
    Connecticut, while partner Catheart Energy is based in Texas.

    --------------------------------------------- -----
    Onshore oil and gas:  New Optimism for Nova Scotia
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶5.  While Nova Scotia's offshore exploration scene has slowed,
    there is increased interest in the potential of the province's
    onshore oil and gas reserves.  Unlike in neighboring New
    Brunswick, there has never been a commercial onshore discovery
    in Nova Scotia.  Now three Calgary-based firms are hoping to
    change that: Triangle Petroleum Corp., Stealth Ventures and the

    HALIFAX 00000058  002.2 OF 003

    newest player, Forent Energy. Triangle announced in June that it
    plans to spend $35 million to drill up to six wells in its
    search for shale gas; Stealth Ventures is exploring the
    potential of developing an old coal mine that contains an
    estimated 30 billion cubic meters of coal-bed methane gas; and,
    on July 16, Forent received approval from the provincial
    government for an exploration program for eastern Nova Scotia.

    --------------------------------------------- --------------
    LNG News: Quoddy Project Delayed/NL Project Clears a Hurdle
    --------------------------------------------- --------------

    ¶6.  The members of a New Brunswick group fighting the
    construction of three proposed LNG terminals in Maine are
    encouraged by the news that one of the companies is delaying its
    project.  Quoddy Bay LNG announced on July 16 that it would
    delay upcoming hearings by the State of Maine because it has not
    finalized gas supplies.  A spokesperson said the company cannot
    determine the precise chemical composition of the gas or what
    processing equipment would be required until it can get a
    supplier. Inflation in construction costs was another factor in
    the decision.  The company said it will use the time to review
    its development plan which may include co-locating its project
    with the other proposals:  Downeast LNG and Calais LNG.  In
    other LNG news, on July 7 the Newfoundland-Labrador provincial
    government approved the environmental assessment plan for the
    proposed LNG terminal in Grassy Point Newfoundland-Labrador.
    The proponent, Newfoundland LNG, is still waiting for the
    federal environmental assessment to be finished.

    --------------------------------------------- -
    Update on Lower Churchill and Lepreau Projects
    --------------------------------------------- -

    ¶7.  On July 15, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and
    the Newfoundland-Labrador Dept. of the Environment issued the
    final guidelines for the preparation of the Environmental Impact
    Statement for the Lower Churchill hydro project.  The guidelines
    will provide direction to the eventual proponent of the project
    and will identify the information that will be required in the
    statement of the anticipated effects of the project on the
    environment.  In other energy project news, New Brunswick Power
    officials have said that the $1.4 billion Lepreau nuclear power
    plant refurbishment project is on schedule.  The fuel and heavy
    water have been removed from the plant and the project has now
    moved to the major work - refurbishment of the reactor itself.

    ---------------------------------------------
    Future Electricity Exports from New Brunswick
    ---------------------------------------------

    ¶8.  New Brunswick is seeing the possibility of new U.S. export
    opportunities with the news that two private Maine utility
    companies want to upgrade their power grid.  Central Maine Power
    and the Maine Public Service Company announced on July 3 they
    are proposing to invest $1.9 billion in a project which would
    connect northern Maine to the rest of the State's power grid for
    the first time.  Should the project go ahead, the two companies
    would also look at making a connection to neighboring New
    Brunswick.  If that goes ahead, it would give New Brunswick some
    new capacity to expand its exports to New England.

    ¶9.  In planning for future export sales, New Brunswick
    government officials have said the province will soon have to
    decide on just what role its provincially owned power utility,
    New Brunswick Power, will play in generating more electricity
    for export.  There is concern over the ability of NB Power to
    take on new projects given its current fiscal status.  In July
    the New Brunswick cabinet approved more than $600 million in
    loans to the utility:  $200 million towards the Lepreau
    refurbishment project, another $230 million to pay for
    replacement fuel while Lepreau is offline and another $190
    million to refinance the utility's debt which now stands at $3.4
    billion.  The alternative to having NB Power build new
    generation capacity would be for the province to invite the
    private sector to get involved.  Provincial officials point to
    the fact that there is already private interest in a possible
    second reactor at Point Lepreau and in developing new wind
    projects.

    --------------------------------
    News from Nova Scotia Power Inc.
    --------------------------------

    ¶10.  The former President and CEO of Bangor Hydro, Rob Bennett,
    is now the new top executive at Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI).
    Both Bangor Hydro and NSPI are owned by Emera, a Nova Scotia
    energy company.  Bennett, a long-time NSPI executive and Nova

    HALIFAX 00000058  003.2 OF 003

    Scotia native, went to Bangor Hydro in 2002 to oversee Emera's
    takeover of the utility.  Also NSPI announced on August 1 that
    it plans to use more biomass, including wood waste, to provide
    electricity to power homes in the province.  NSPI said it will
    seek proposals from various sectors and independent power
    producers for renewable energy projects fueled by biomass.
    Since 2003, NSPI has signed agreements with independent power
    producers for more than 300 megawatts of electricity from
    renewable sources.  Most of the agreements are for energy
    generated by wind, but also include landfill gas and biomass.

    --------
    COMMENT:
    --------

    ¶11.  Atlantic Canada clearly has great potential to be a secure,
    long-term energy supplier for the United States--especially for
    New England.  U.S. Energy Under Secretary Albright underscored
    this theme during his June visit to Saint John, New Brunswick,
    when he described the province as a very valuable energy partner
    with the New England states.  Newfoundland-Labrador and Nova
    Scotia are similarly poised to be our strong energy partners.
    The combined total of annual energy exports to the U.S. from
    Atlantic Canada already exceeds $14 billion, with each Province
    focusing on different energy exports:  electricity from New
    Brunswick, oil from Newfoundland-Labrador, and natural gas from
    Nova Scotia.  There are prospects for future growth in several
    areas (reftel), but much will depend on how the demand for
    energy in the U.S. northeast shapes up in the coming months and
    on overall developments in global energy markets.  END COMMENT
    FOSTER

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