Atlantic Canada finds itself in interesting times, and the threat of economic instability including reduced revenue from impending U.S. tariffs, has got the government bodies in that area exploring ways to diversify their income to protect their economy from collapse.

Using the success on the other side of the country, the Atlantic Canadian (AC) governments look to follow the Pacific in broadening their scope to kickstart the next stage of Canadian energy development.

Recently, the Nova Scotian premier suggested lifting moratoriums along the coast to enable exploration and allowing fracking for natural gas. Industry publications called the premiere’s announcement a move to create the Next Great Energy Frontier, and believe with hydraulic fracturing alone, the reserves in Atlantic Canada represent a current market value of $186 – $221 billion dollars. Although there are many hurdles besides the moratoriums, we cannot deny that Atlantic Canada’s potential to be a super region for Canadian energy is palpable.

Atlantic Canada’s recent popularity and attention by governing bodies is because of the current political climate, but for those in the energy industry, this is an awakening to great potential that we always knew was there. Atlantic Canada produces low-carbon offshore oil, is the home of Canada’s largest oil refinery, and is where Canada’s first LNG terminal for import calls home. Its history began as early as 1869, and things really picked up in 1969 with the discovery of Cohasset-Panuke offshore of Nova Scotia. The Hibernia platform began producing oil in 1997 and Deep Panuke production of natural gas began in late 2013 (although now shut down since 2018). More recently ExxonMobil got approved for NL Hebron field amendments in December 2023, and Cenovus’ White Rose Project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador is on target for first oil in 2026.

GDM Data shows that Atlantic Canada has an impressive list of multi-national oil companies who although have left some areas in Western Canada, are still holding out for the east coast to produce. BP Canada, Equinor and ExxonMobil dominate in Newfoundland and Labrador in land holdings. In Nova Scotia, leaders include ExxonMobil, Shell, and Imperial Oil. You can see in the chart below the number of Exploration Licensed (EL) acreages they have, hectares they hold, and what Significant Discovery Licenses (SDLs) they hold. These are impressive numbers betting that a currently semi-dormant region will soon awaken and provide great financial returns.

Note: This is a subset of data and only shows the top 5 holders in Atlantic Canada.

Although the spotlight is focused primarily on Atlantic Canada, the same story can be told in the Canadian Arctic. There is a legacy of Canadian companies working onshore in this area, ranging from the biggest names in the business to smaller operators who are minnows among the whales. BP Canada, Shell, Suncor, and Imperial Oil are just a few of the large producers invested in the Canadian Arctic while small companies with working interest including Chance Oil and Gas, MGM Energy, and Franklin Petroleum. GDM data shows that licensing goes as far back as 1986 – 2016, and like Atlantic Canada, the work may be dormant but all that’s needed are the right conditions for the region to reignite and thrive.

Note: The number of facilities and pipeline length in each region, on and offshore.

With Atlantic Canada coming back into the news, we here at GDM are interested to see how it all unfolds. Our long-standing experience in this area dates to 1997 when a group of oil companies reached out to GDM to build a database, now GDM’s Frontier Land database. Because there were challenges in collecting what limited data was available, and more importantly, to summarize and add value to the data making it consumable for exploration, companies relied on GDM to step up and do what we do best; translating raw data into something meaningful.

GDM’s Frontier Land Database is the most comprehensive and detailed source of active mineral lease data available for areas in Canada outside the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. We maintain and lease the database which includes active oil and gas rights, including active licenses under moratorium. In Quebec alone, GDM has data dating back 15+ years. This information is hard to find since most licenses have returned to the crown and are no longer publicly accessible. We can say confidently that no other data provider out there understands the information to the accuracy level that we have developed.

Should these bold plans from governing bodies turn into action, GDM is ready to help companies make those critical decisions on how to move forward in Atlantic Canada to create the next big thing in energy development. For more information on GDM’s Frontier Land database, please contact us.

About GDM

GDM Inc. is the trusted source for energy infrastructure data in Canada. In business since 1997, GDM is relied on by industry to deliver the most complete, accurate, and current pipeline and facility, environmental incident, transportation infrastructure, utility, and frontier land data. Our data is available as part of prominent industry applications AccuMap and geoSCOUT, in addition to being accessible via direct database connection and GIS-ready files.

To round out our offering, our proprietary software application, Converge, offers analytics and mapping tools, as well as modules specific to pipeline risk assessment, water crossing prioritization, and asset connectivity. We also deliver custom data reporting and analytics services to meet the unique and changing needs of the energy industry in Canada.

For more information about GDM’s solutions, visit www.gdm-inc.com