Nova Scotia looking to revive offshore gas industry

Nova Scotia is giving offshore petroleum development another try.

The joint provincial-federal offshore energy regulator announced Monday it's issuing a call for bids for offshore oil and gas exploration on 13 parcels totalling more than 3.3 million hectares.

Nova Scotia Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau says it's part of the Houston government's goal of ramping up resource development. He said this seemed like "a simple one" to revisit given the province's history of offshore natural gas extraction.

"What an opportunity for us to make sure that we're looking at what we can do to grow our economy, to make sure that we are energy secure and to look out for opportunities for Nova Scotians," he said.

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator is advertising exploration licences around the Scotian Shelf and Scotian Slope, which are close to but exclude the Sable Island National Park Reserve and the Gully Marine Protected Area.

A government news release says there is a known reserve of at least 3.2 trillion cubic feet of offshore natural gas on the Scotian Shelf.

Companies have the better part of a year to submit bids. The deadline is April 28, 2026.

Part of 'clean' energy transition

Boudreau said the province is committed to its goal of reaching 80 per cent renewable energy consumption by 2030, but he noted that it's an ambitious target and said natural gas will be "key" to the transition.

Although natural gas is a carbon-emitting fossil fuel, Boudreau argued it's cleaner than coal, which is still an important source of energy for Nova Scotia. The province is supposed to stop burning coal for electricity by 2030.

"We know we have incredible assets with our renewables," Boudreau said, pointing to solar, onshore wind, offshore wind and hydrogen. The latter two are undeveloped in Nova Scotia so far.

"But we recognize that it takes … that diversity in fuel sources, and natural gas will be an important one moving forward," he added.

Can it co-exist with offshore wind?

The offshore energy regulator is expected to release another call for bids sometime this year, but for wind. 

The province has been gradually preparing for offshore wind development for several years, with an initial plan for five gigawatts before the end of the decade. More recently, Premier Tim Houston has been pitching a much more ambitious vision for offshore wind, including upwards of 60 gigawatts.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender questioned whether the two offshore industries can co-exist.

"Particularly in light of the fact that Tim Houston has made a lot in recent weeks and months of offshore wind, it's perplexing that these bids have been reopened," she said.

The last time the regulator put out a call for offshore petroleum was in 2022, with an exploration licence issued to Inceptio Limited in 2023. But within two months, Nova Scotia and Ottawa vetoed the regulator's decision and the licence was withdrawn.

At that time, the provincial and federal ministers responsible for energy and natural resources said in a joint statement that they needed to do more research to see how offshore petroleum might interact with renewable energy projects — namely, wind.

Boudreau said he believes offshore wind and offshore petroleum can operate in tandem. He said that is based on the findings of a recent assessment of Nova Scotia's offshore wind potential, and the example of other jurisdictions, including countries around Europe's North Sea.

History of offshore natural gas

Offshore natural gas development started in Nova Scotia in the early 1990s and the last operating wells were capped in 2018.

Exploration efforts by various companies also stopped in 2018. Twice the regulator has put calls for exploration licences out and received no bids.

Boudreau said he's had some preliminary conversations with members of the industry and is encouraged by their interest.

"There is an attitude change here in the province that industry is seeing," he said.

The regulator is now accepting feedback from the public and stakeholders through a comment form on its website. Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 5, 2025.