A group of Senators are in St. John's as part of a study on NL's offshore petroleum industry

    Tuesday, 17 March 2026 06:00

    By Tonya Organ

    Pixabay photo credit keridjackson

    Chair Senator David Wells says the petroleum industry is different here than in Western Canada, since we don’t need pipelines, or rail to get it to market and it's a light, sweet crude that gets a higher price around the world. 

    The Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources is on a fact-finding mission over the next few days as part of its study of the province’s offshore petroleum industry. Chair Senator David Wells says they’re meeting with industry reps, environmental groups, academics and government officials in St. John’s. He says the petroleum industry is different here than in Western Canada, since we don’t need pipelines, or rail to get it to market and it's a light, sweet crude that gets a higher price around the world. 

    Wells says they will be visiting industrial facilities, research centres and ports. He says while a lot of the service and supply companies that deal with the offshore are located on the east coast of NL but the west coast will see benefits with an increase in indirect jobs. Wells says the since the study was launched last year, the committee has hosted hearings about the potential of the petroleum industry here.

    Senators will wrap up meetings on the East Coast this Thursday. 

     

     

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