Husky Energy to get $41.5 million in federal cash for stalled N.L. offshore project

Photo: Contributed

Husky Energy will receive $41.5 million in federal money to maintain jobs and move toward restarting its West White Rose offshore oil project in Newfoundland and Labrador, if conditions permit.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey made the funding announcement today in St. John's, N.L., saying the investment ensures jobs for 331 people in the province for the next year.

Furey said Husky is matching the funding with $41.5 million of its own money.

The company announced in September it was halting construction on the $2.2-billion West White Rose project, which would extend the life of its White Rose oilfield about 350 kilometres off the coast of St. John’s.

That same month, the Canadian government announced it would provide $320 million, to be managed by the province, to help Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil industry as the sector sputtered under plummeting oil prices and a global pandemic.

In October, Furey assembled an oil and gas recovery task force whose goal was, in part, to decide how to parcel out that money, and he says today’s announcement is the first of several.