ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Exxon Mobil Corp. says first oil has been produced ahead of schedule from the $14-billion Hebron project in the Jeanne D’Arc Basin about 350 kilometres southeast of St. John’s.
It had been expected to begin production in December. At its peak, it is designed to produce 150,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Hebron oilfield off Newfoundland and Labrador was discovered in 1980 and is estimated to contain more than 700 million barrels of recoverable oil.
The project had an estimated cost of $5 billion when announced 10 years ago. It has taken about eight years since official sanctioning to complete engineering, construction and startup of Hebron with about 7,500 people working at the peak of construction phase.
Hebron is operated by ExxonMobil Canada with a 35.5 per cent stake.
Its other partners are Chevron Canada with 29.6 per cent interest, Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) with 21 per cent, Statoil Canada with nine per cent and provincial Crown corporation Nalcor Energy with 4.9 per cent.