Canadian and U.S. firms are showing renewed interest in developing gas fields off Nova Scotia.
Mobil Oil Canada Properties and Shell Canada Ltd., both of Calgary, will be lead partners in a $1 million study of development of six fields in the Sable Island area on the Scotian Shelf.
Under study will be Venture, South Venture, Thebaud, Triumph, Glenelg, and Alma fields, all discovered in the 1970s and 1980s. Mobil operates Venture, South Venture, and Thebaud fields, while Shell operates the others.
Earlier, Mobil conducted joint development studies for Venture field but shelved the plans in 1988 because of weak gas markets.
Meanwhile, Westcoast Energy Inc., Vancouver, B.C.; and Panhandle Eastern Corp., Houston, plan a $3 million feasibility study of a gas pipeline to serve markets in eastern Canada and the U.S. Northeast. A possible route runs through New Brunswick to connect with pipelines north of Boston.
Sable Island reserves are estimated at 2-4 tcf since initial discoveries in 1971 by Mobil.
The companies hope to make a development or no-development decision by 1997. Mobil said no gas will flow before the turn of the century.
Initial development costs are estimated at $2-3 billion (Canadian) and pipeline costs at $1 billion.
Mobil has spent about $500 million for Sable Island area exploration.
Development study costs are to be shared by Mobil 41%, Shell Canada Ltd. 26%, Petro-Canada 18%, Imperial Oil Ltd. 9%, and Nova Scotia Resources Ltd. 6%.
There is oil production but no commercial gas production off Canada.
Lasmo Nova Scotia Ltd. began producing oil June 5, 1992, from its Cohasset/Panuke development project off Nova Scotia, Canada's first offshore hydrocarbons production.
Elsewhere off eastern Canada, the Hibernia Management Development Co. Ltd. group is constructing components to place Hibernia oil field on stream in December 1997 at a site on the Grand Banks, about 196 miles east of St. John's, Newf.
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