MONTREAL – Premier-designate Philippe Couillard may not be keen on the idea but Petrolia is ready to proceed with the former Parti Quebecois government’s deal to explore Anticosti Island.
Petrolia (TSX:PEA) president Myron Tetreault said during a speech to a Montreal business group today the oil company would respect agreements recently signed with Pauline Marois’s government.
Couillard had said during the election campaign he would like to see exploratory drilling suspended until a strategic environmental study could be carried out.
Tetreault said after his speech he is confident he will be able to fully demonstrate the value of the deal.
He pointed out that the drilling is only to get samples for analysis to determine the site’s potential, which the Marois government estimated at 46 billion barrels.
Even if Couillard has said he will respect the deal signed by the outgoing government, he has questioned the wisdom of the state investing $115 million to get a stake in the petroleum exploration companies.
Tetreault would not say if he was worried Quebec might scale back its involvement in the project.