Dalhousie University puts out call for interest in natural gas development in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s government has given Dalhousie University $30 million to spur exploration and development of onshore natural gas.

At last check, the government says there’s 200 years’ worth of recoverable natural gas in certain areas of the province – or the equivalent of seven trillion cubic feet of natural gas underground in Nova Scotia.

“We haven’t really seen any of this since 2013,” said Marco MacLeod, ministerial assistant with the province’s Department of Energy. “So, we’ve been doing our work to catch up and to modernize our system and regulations. So, we aren’t starting from scratch here and so we can use our best practices.”

The province is giving Dalhousie University $30 million in funding to administer the Subsurface Energy Research and Development Investment program, which will see the $5.7 million stay with the university for its work on the project.

Dalhousie announced Friday it’s now putting out a call for bids from those in the petroleum industry who want to tap in and explore for, or develop, natural gas to come forward.

“We’ve had very preliminary conversations with natural gas producers, and this is an opportunity for them to put their hands up and let us know they are interested and begin in the summer to explore in the basins that we have,” said Graham Gagnon, vice-president of research and innovation at Dalhousie University.

Nova Scotia’s mapping shows seven trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas in two regions including the Cumberland Basin, which spans most of Cumberland County and a small part of Pictou County, as well as the Windsor-Kennetcook Basin, which spans across all of Hants County and small parts of Colchester and Kings counties.

Last year, the Houston government lifted the moratorium placed on onshore natural gas drilling or fracturing in 2014.

The province says most of the natural gas used for energy here is imported and shipped from the United States. The Houston government has said that energy sovereignty is part of the move to develop natural gas here, but to also make energy more affordable and to spur the economy.

“Anytime you are able to control your own energy you are able to offer people much more affordable cost structures,” said Gagnon.

The province is facing a $1.29-billion deficit and it believes the development of natural gas and other natural resources, like onshore and offshore wind energy, will be critical to get the province’s fiscal situation in order.

“For our economy it would mean jobs, but it would also mean energy sovereignty, and in this day and age that means a lot,” said MacLeod.

The call for proposals opens March 11 and closes April 15.

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