October 2, 1998
(Industry, Trade and Technology)

Minister responds to comments by Opposition leader

Judy Foote, Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology, responded today to statements by Opposition Leader Ed Byrne saying that given his comments, he obviously isn't aware of the activity that is taking place in this province as a result of the developing oil and gas industry. Mr. Byrne issued a press release Wednesday stating that government should have followed 10 recommendations from his 1997 presentation to the Terra Nova Assessment Panel. Minister Foote said that the list of recommendations to which Mr. Byrne referenced in his press release were never provided to her department which has as part of its mandate responsibility for industrial benefits.

She said: "The offshore oil industry has provided and will continue to provide significant benefits to the province. The province has benefitted from the following industrial and employment opportunities with regards to the Terra Nova project:

• Fabrication of two major modules at Bull Arm at a cost of $100million with 600-700 people to be employed;

• Fabrication of subsea templates and manifolds at the Newfoundland Dockyard at a cost of $9 million;

• Provision of engineering and procurement services for topsides by AGRA Monenco to the Terra Nova Alliance;

• Provision of fire detection and vessel control systems for the Terra Nova FPSO by SEA Limited, a local company;

• Numerous other contracts let to Newfoundland and Labrador firms including services for freight forwarding, geotechnical, environmental, model testing, telecommunications, model testing, equipment, etc. with more to come;

• During pre-production activity, 900-1100 persons will be employed in Newfoundland;

• Operations phase will generate 400-450 direct longer term jobs;

• Eighty per cent of total employment activity will occur in Newfoundland;

• Sixty per cent of total capital and operating expenditures will be spent in Newfoundland.

In response to his request for "a government office to work tirelessly for maximum benefits," Minister Foote said, "The Department of Industry, Trade and Technology, as part of its mandate, has an Industrial Benefits Division that is dedicated to maximizing benefits for residents of the province.

The CNOPB, through the Atlantic Accord, has a mandate to ensure that the pace and manner of development optimizes the social and economic benefits to Canada as a whole and to Newfoundland and Labrador in particular. The CNOPB also has a Benefits Division in place which operates under this mandate."

She added: "The Department of Industry, Trade and Technology consults with the Newfoundland Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) on a regular basis and will continue to do so in the future. Also, the Deputy Minister of DITT is chairing an offshore petroleum engineering task force with a mandate to provide a long term goal for the development of the offshore petroleum engineering industry in the province. Stakeholders include the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland(APEGN), the Consulting Engineers of Newfoundland and Labrador(CENL), the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (CNOPB), and major oil companies."

Furthermore, under the Offshore Development Fund(ODF), the Career Development Awards Program provides opportunities for provincial residents to pursue post-secondary studies in disciplines related to the exploration, development and production activities associated with the offshore petroleum sector and assists in providing on-the-job training in strategically important offshore occupations. She said: "Approximately 4,300 Career Awards have been issued to students of the province's post-secondary institutions at a cost of 12.2 million dollars."

She added that in relation to resource-based projects in the province, Government, through the Department of Human Resources and Employment, is working with all of the stakeholders to identify existing data sources and other needs to develop and maintain a skills inventory for the province.

With respect to the need for a focus on research and development, she added that both the federal and provincial governments have established a Research and Development Block Fund designed to encourage increased offshore petroleum related research and development and technology commercialization activities within the province. She said: "This has a long term objective of stimulating greater participation in offshore oil and gas related manufacturing and service enterprises. The mandate of this fund is to build on the province's world class scientific and engineering infrastructure, to take advantage of our comparative strengths in marine R&D and technology innovation, and to increase our access to global market opportunities, all to generate sustainable corporate revenues and employment for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians."

Minister Foote said that while Mr. Byrne's comments were focused primarily on benefits associated with the Terra Nova project, no one can ignore the benefits that continue to accrue to the province when other projects such as Hibernia are considered. She cited recent office openings in the province for major oil companies such as Husky, Norsk Hydro, Petro Canada and Mobil, as well as the establishment of major warehouses for two of the world's largest well-services companies, Halliburton and Schlumberger, as additional examples of industrial benefits and employment benefitting the province from offshore oil and gas activity.

Media contact:  John Doody, Communications, (709) 729-0050.

1998 10 02                                                 4:20 p.m.