Today is the day to get The Telegram or visit the online site.
Check out the business story by Moira Baird on Hibernia and Terra Nova royalties. I have known Moira for a while and from my perspective she is an industrial-strength reporter. Solid. Dependably fair. Factual. Fortunately, there are lots of them working in the news business in Newfoundland and Labrador. They are the best in the long run.
Moira's assessment is that combined royalties - not direct revenue in total - will hit more than $200 million this fiscal year. Factor in the offsets in the existing Atlantic Accord and other direct revenue related to oil and I stick by my prediction we are going to be well over $300 million before the end of the fiscal year. Add to that the $133.6 billion in added offsets from the new deal and the revenue stream from the offshore mounts.
Flip back to Wade Locke's slides and have a look at a few where he notes oil revenues. I may have issues with his interpretation, but I am not going to question the core facts on which he builds his case. A couple of things leap out. First of all, it is clear the province's October revenue slide was based on oil prices at less than US$32 per barrel. Second, you start to see the value of the Atlantic Accord. The greatest economic benefit to Newfoundland and Labrador comes from the Mulroney/Peckford Accord and from the royalty regimes negotiated by successor provincial governments. Danny Williams has added some good cash to that mix but the real value is in the original Accord.
That's what I have been saying since the beginning.
Now I have to visit the doctor to fix the shoulder dislocated by patting myself so hard on the back!
