An international company has proposed using seismic testing to find oil wells off Nova Scotia’s coast.
Multiklient Invest has approached the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board to develop a scope for the project.
To go forward with the plan, MKI must answer questions around the project’s safety, environmental protection, industrial benefits, geophysical and financial requirements.
New Ventures Manager with MKI, Neil Paddy says sometimes a company will contract them to perform this testing but areas like Nova Scotia are a bit different.
“In these areas where there’s less level of activity, we acquire the data first then we license it to the oil companies.”
Paddy says their exploration methods are generally non-invasive.
“It has some impact. Generally the impact will be temporary rather than long term. The seismic source is a release of high-pressure air, so if you have fish in the area, they will move away.”
The seismic data is then used to create 2D and 3D maps of potential oil wells.
The project is at the beginning of its environmental assessments and Paddy doesn’t expect it could get underway before the spring.
A copy of the proposed draft document can be found here.
The Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board is inviting comments on the project by October 29, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. Atlantic Time.
To make a comment, follow this link.
Reported by Ed Halverson
Twitter: @edwardhalverson
E-mail: halverson.ed@radioabl.ca
