Enviro Watch NL worried about oil exploration at the Northeast Slope Closure

    Tuesday, 13 June 2023 16:08

    By Tonya Organ

    Gerard Curtis is the Offshore Oil and Gas Working Group coordinator for Enviro Watch NL. He says Horizon BP’s had the largest offshore oil spill in history and it’s not something we want in our history books.

    A local historian and former oil-field worker fears the worst in light of an announcement that BP can begin exploring in a refuge known as the Northeast Newfoundland Slope Closure. Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson recently visited the province. He also said if BP does find oil, part of the refuge could be removed as a conservation area. Gerard Curtis is the Offshore Oil and Gas Working Group coordinator for Enviro Watch NL. He says Horizon BP’s had the largest offshore oil spill in history and it’s not something we want in our history books. Curtis says 60 percent of what is accessible can't even be used. He says with his experience in the oil field, he feels this can only lead us down the same path of destruction. Curtis says exploration is the start of the extraction process. He says the Slope Closure area is about the size of Denmark and protects fragile coral and lifeforms. 

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