N.L. oil workers gather in last-ditch effort to save Terra Nova offshore oilfield

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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — About 100 oil workers gathered outside Newfoundland and Labrador’s legislature this morning, a day before a final decision on the fate of the Terra Nova oilfield is due.

Though provincial politicians and federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan gave rousing speeches about protecting workers and staying strong, worker Wayne Alexander didn’t feel much comfort.

Alexander says he’s one of the few dozen workers from the Terra Nova oilfield who still has a job with the operation, but it could vanish Tuesday.

That is when Suncor Energy, the majority owner of the field, is expected to make a decision about whether the field will be abandoned for good.

Alexander says he has seven-year-old twin girls at home, and though he wants nothing more than to raise them in Newfoundland and Labrador, he’ll head to Alberta to look for work if he has to.

The Terra Nova oilfield infrastructure needs significant work in order to keep the field pumping, and Suncor president Mark Little has said not all of the seven partners behind the project are on board to foot the bill.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2021.

The Canadian Press