Jonathan Wilkinson. Image credit: X/@JonathanWNV
Victoria/CMEDIA: According to the federal government, final offshore oil and gas permits for Canada’s West Coast have been relinquished.
The relinquishment came from Chevron Canada, which has given up its 23 offshore permits along the coast of British Columbia as of Feb. 9, a news release from the office of Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson reportedly said.
Giving up the oil and gas permits in Pacific waters fulfils a condition in the federal government’s commitment to an Indigenous-led conservation initiative, the release continues to say, that received a pledge of $800 million in support from Ottawa two years ago.
Chevron Canada said in April 2023 that it was voluntarily relinquishing 19 offshore oil and gas permits within protected wildlife areas on B.C.’s West Coast.
The relinquishment represents the last of the 227 offshore oil and gas permits for British Columbia’s coastal waters , a spokeswoman from Wilkinson’s office said.
The permitting area estimated at 5,700 square kilometres given up by Chevron at that time overlapped parts of federal marine protection areas off B.C.
