As equity partners, are we prepared for any potential offshore environmental disaster?

The environmental disaster currently taking place off the coast of Louisiana is certainly a situation that we should take very seriously off our shores, especially as we are an equity partner in some of our offshore projects and on the hook for any clean-up costs should an oil spill take place, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones.

“As an equity partner, Nalcor should be closely watching the events in the Gulf of Mexico to ensure the people of this province are protected from both an environmental and financial cost perspective,” said Ms. Jones. “We have heard environmentalists and professors at Memorial University who have said publicly that they are concerned that our province does not have the necessary technology to cope with a spill. They also stated that it isn’t a question of if, but when a spill will take place. If people specializing in environmental protection do not have confidence in our current system, how can the people of the province be assured that we will not be facing a similar disaster in the future?

“We can only hope any future environmental problems in our oil industry are small in comparison to the one being experienced off Louisiana. However, there is always the threat that something could happen. Not only would this be environmentally damaging, but our equity investment will put the people of the province in line to pay a percentage of any clean-up costs.

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