I rise in this House today to acknowledge another major milestone in our province's petroleum industry — the achievement of first oil production from North Amethyst, the first White Rose satellite development, at 3:00 p.m. yesterday.

This marks the first oil production from one of our fields in which this province has an equity stake in every barrel that is produced. Our government, through Nalcor Energy — Oil and Gas, holds a five per cent working interest in North Amethyst. Husky Energy is the project operator and primary interest holder.

This development will ultimately return to the province super royalties of 36.5 per cent when oil prices are above $50 U.S. per barrel. When oil prices are below $50 U.S., the 30 per cent generic royalty regime applies.

The return to this province as a result of our equity stake demonstrates our foresight in getting involved as partners in this development. Husky's discovery last November of additional oil in this field allows the province to benefit through Nalcor Energy by such a large amount that it is the same as recouping the purchase price for our equity in the White Rose expansion and in the Hibernia Southern Extension.

And depending on recovery rates and the price of oil during production, this one discovery will cover all, or substantially all, the purchase price of our equity share in the Hebron development as well.

Through our policy of acquiring equity stakes, our government is ensuring that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador finally play a meaningful role in the development of our natural resources. Combined with improved royalty regimes and greater local benefits, this approach ensures that we are receiving the best possible value for the development of our non-renewable resources. The announcement of first oil as a partner in this project is a tangible results of the visionary approach of our Premier and this government. This is a proud day for the province and once gain reflects our determination as a people that the days of giveaways are a thing of the past.

The White Rose oil field has grown substantially since first production in 2005. Its satellite fields will provide approximately $5 billion to the province, depending on oil prices at the time. Production from North Amethyst clearly demonstrates the opportunities that lie before us for growth and development in established fields. North Amethyst was brought into production less than four years after its discovery.

We are working with industry to find ways to economically extend the lifespan of mature, producing oil fields through subsea tie-backs to existing infrastructure. This is the first sub-sea tieback in Canada. The North Amethyst development will enable us to offset the natural declines at the main White Rose field with an additional 68 million barrels of recoverable oil.

Husky Energy will continue to ramp up production and conduct well testing in the field during the coming weeks and 11 wells are planned for this development over the next few years.

I would like to also congratulate our industry partners on this achievement and in particular I would like to thank Dr. John Lau for his contributions to this province during his tenure as President and CEO of Husky Energy. It is quite fitting that during this — his last week at the helm — he is witnessing the fruits of his labour.