Hibernia: An Interim Audit of Socio-economic Impacts
Authors: Storey Keith , Shrimpton Mark , Grattan Leslie 
Published: December 2007

The Hibernia offshore oil field, on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in eastern Canada, was discovered in 1979. Following public review in 1985, the project was approved and work on the construction of the concrete gravity base offshore production platform began in 1990. This paper uses the analysis of issues and concerns presented in the 1985 Hibernia Development Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as a baseline against which to review the actual socio-economic effects of the development phase of the project. The construction of platform has been one of, if not the, largest construction projects in North America in the 1990s and it seems likely to be remembered as one of the few that have successfully avoided the negative social and economic impacts normally associated with the superimposition of very large projects on rural environments. In comparison with most other large construction projects, Hibernia stands out as a case in which potential impacts were adequately identified, optimization measures determined and implemented, and the negative consequences avoided or mitigated.

Introduction

The Hibernia offshore field (Fig. 1) was discovered in 1979. Environmental assessment of the project began in 1980 but was delayed for a variety of reasons, notably a federal-provincial jurisdictional dispute over ownership. Following public review in 1985, the Canadian and Newfoundland governments approved the project, but further delays in reaching a financial agreement between governments and the proponent (the Hibernia Management and Development Company [HMDC]) delayed the start on the project until the Fall of 1990. Even then the project did not proceed smoothly. In 1992 Gulf Oil were forced to withdraw from the project for financial reasons and the search for other partners significantly delayed work on the project. Completion of the platform is now expected by March 1997, with first oil in December of that year. Thus some eighteen years will have elapsed between field discovery and first oil.

During the environmental assessment and review process a number of concerns were raised about the project and its potential effects on community infrastructure and society. The comparison of potential and actual socio-economic effects during the construction phase of the project form the basis for this paper. In the Hibernia Development Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) the main socio-economic issues and concerns were considered under the categories of Industry and Employment; Demography; the Fishery; Housing; Public Services, Commercial and Industrial Infrastructure, and; Community Services and Social Infrastructure, These categories are used here as the basis for this interim audit of the project. In each case a short summary of concerns and predicted effects is presented, followed by a review of the actual impacts and the role of HMDC initiatives in maximizing benefits to, and mitigating potential problems for, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Changing Circumstances

The comparison of predicted and actual impacts is one type of impact audit. In this case the comparison is complicated by the long delays between field discovery, project assessment and project development.

P. 271