Corridor Resources secures new exploration licence for Old Harry prospect

HALIFAX – Corridor Resources Inc. has been granted more time to explore the Old Harry oil and gas prospect off the coast of Newfoundland despite objections from environmentalists.

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board issued the new four-year, 51,780-hectare exploration licence Sunday in a move that required federal and provincial approval.

The regulator said the new licence was needed to give the company more time to complete consultations and an environmental assessment before starting exploration work in the area, which sits about 80 kilometres off the southwest tip of Newfoundland.

The Save Our Seas and Shores Coalition and other environmental and First Nation groups have been calling for a moratorium to prevent offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of St. Lawrence over concerns of the potential effects a spill would have on the area’s sensitive ecology.

Corridor Resources said it was pleased with the new licence and intends to conduct electromagnetic scanning of the area this fall, subject to regulatory approvals and access to a ship.

The federal government has estimated that the Gulf and surrounding areas potentially hold 39-trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.5-billion barrels of oil.