Old Harry: Jurisdiction dispute holding up oil exploration

According to Deer Lake Oil and Gas, a small oil company headed by former Peckford and Moores era advisor Cabot Martin, exploration of promising oil prospects in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is being held up by a dispute between Ottawa and Quebec City over jurisdiction of the underwater resources.

Halifax-based Corridor Resources holds exploration licenses for one of the most promising structures, called Old Harry.  The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board website shows Corridor holds Exploration License 1105 which covers the area.  The company website states that Corridor also holds exploration licenses from Quebec for the portion of the Old Harry structure in the disputed area.  The company has conducted 2D seismic investigation but to date no drilling has taken place despite strong signs of oil presence including a number of seeps.

In 2003, Hydro Quebec Oil and Gas farmed in on the Quebec licenses on Old Harry.

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