Fate of Bay du Nord oilfield in Newfoundland still unclear as Equinor delays deadline

A sign for the company Equinor is displayed on Oct. 28, 2020, in Fornebu, Norway. (Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)

ST. JOHN’S — Equinor has delayed a deadline to decide whether it will proceed with its proposed Bay du Nord offshore oilfield in Newfoundland and Labrador, as it hammers out a benefits agreement with the province.

The Norwegian energy company says the status deadline initially set for December has been adjusted to allow time for the province’s Progressive Conservative government to settle in after winning the October election.

News of the delay was first reported by allNewfoundlandLabrador news, and the company says its new deadline is in the near term, but didn’t give details.

Company spokesperson Erika Kelland says that if the project meets the new status deadline, the company is still on track to make a final decision in 2027 about whether to go ahead with the $14-billion project.

Rob Strong, an oil industry consultant in St. John’s, N.L., says he is not concerned about the delay, though he says the project is not a “slam dunk.”

The government wants certain fabrication work for the project to be completed in Newfoundland and Labrador, but Strong says it would be cheaper for the work to be done elsewhere.

The Canadian government approved the Bay du Nord project in 2022, but Equinor said the following year it was putting the development on hold as it looked for ways to cut costs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2026.