Equinor and Norway’s Bay du Nord oil project must be stopped

The Equinor Bay du Nord project would be a disaster for our climate and could cause serious oil spills if built. Equinor (EQNR), which owns Bay du Nord and would make the final investment decision. The company is based out of Stavanger, and majority state-owned by Norway. It is proposing the project located off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sierra Club Canada is working to oppose the Bay du Nord oil project. Hundreds of people also recently protested against Equinor’s Bay du Nord in St. John’s, NL.

The estimated 73 million barrels per year produced by the project would be equivalent to adding more than seven million gas cars to the road. This contradicts climate change and emissions targets. Independent research has additionally concluded that there is a 16% chance of a serious oil spill from the Bay du Nord project. Clearly this would have disastrous impacts on surrounding marine habitats. Equinor estimates, in the event of a spill, it would take 18 to 36 days to install a well-capping system at the site and up to 115 days to install a relief well. Bay du Nord is also economically and financially risky and a bad bet for the future economy of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sierra Club Canada is part of a legal challenge against Bay du Nord being approved by the Canadian government. That court case also includes the Indigenous group Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Incorporated (MTI) which represents eight Mi’gmaq communities in New Brunswick and Ecojustice.

Sierra Club Canada brings together local and international partners to oppose this climate wrecking project. We are also part of the Equinor Out global campaign. Pressure from people like you already delayed the project up to three years. But now we need Equinor to cancel Bay du Nord outright.

Find out more about our work to Stop Equinor’s Bay du Nord and take action!

You can also watch a presentation about Equinor’s oil and gas expansion plans worldwide below. As part of COP15, Sierra Club Canada, Équiterre and the Council of Canadians held this conference to hear various speakers from international NGOs discuss the risks to marine ecosystems from Equinor’s oil projects.

Bay du Nord EquinorBay du Nord also claims to add “11,000 person years” via the project. 11,000 person years doesn’t mean a ton of jobs for a lot of people. For someone hoping for a lifelong, 30-year career, 11,000 person-years is only 366 and a half jobs.