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ST. JOHN’S — Equinor has delayed a key progress target as it decides whether to proceed with its proposed Bay du Nord offshore oil project in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Norwegian energy company said Tuesday that a status deadline — referred to as a “decision gate” by the company — initially set for December has been adjusted, as it hammers out a benefits agreement with the provincial government.
The delay will allow for “continued engagement” with the new Progressive Conservative government as it settles in after the October election, said company spokesperson Erika Kelland.
“A framework agreement with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador is essential to advance Bay du Nord to its next decision gate,” Kelland said in an email.
News of the delay was first reported by allNewfoundlandLabrador.com. Kelland says the company’s new deadline is in the “near term,” but did not give details.
The Canadian government approved the Bay du Nord project in 2022. The following year Equinor put the development on hold as it looked for ways to cut costs.
Since then, the company has made moves to advance the project. In September, it selected Oslo-based BW Offshore as its preferred bidder to build the floating, production and storage vessel to operate in the Bay du Nord field about 500 kilometres off the coast of the capital St. John’s.
Equinor has not yet decided to go ahead with the $14-billion project. If the project meets the new status deadline, the company is still on track to make that final decision in 2027, Kelland said. First oil would then be expected in 2031.
Rob Strong, an oil industry consultant in St. John’s, said that while he is not concerned about the delay, the project is not a “slam dunk.”
In particular, the new provincial government wants certain above-sea features of the vessel, called topsides, to be completed in Newfoundland and Labrador. Strong said it would be cheaper for Equinor if the work was done elsewhere.
“I’m a bit concerned,” he said. “Will we as a province or we as a country have to subsidize local fabrication to make them competitive with the international marketplace?”
BW Offshore issued an expression of interest for some of that work last week.
Energy Minister Lloyd Parrott said his government is having “daily” conversations with Equinor and he is confident they will arrive at a benefits agreement by the company’s new deadline. The agreement would include royalty arrangements and employment targets.
“We are looking for a deal that benefits the province and the people, and the men and women who deserve to work in this province,” he told reporters in St. John’s.
“We are committed to having everything built here, provided that it doesn’t interrupt schedule and cost,” he added.
Bay du Nord would be the first deepwater oil project off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Equinor would own 60 per cent of the project and BP would own 40 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2026.
The Canadian Press
