Feds secure surrender of last oil and gas permits off B.C. coast

Canada has secured the surrender of the last remaining permits for oil and gas development off its Pacific Coast, the federal natural resources minister said on Wednesday, after Chevron Canada voluntarily relinquished 23 permits.

Relinquishment of permits marks milestone in permanently protecting Pacific waters: natural resources minister

Nia Williams · Thomson Reuters · Posted: Feb 21, 2024 4:54 PM EST | Last Updated: February 21

A man in a suit and glasses. — Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson at a news conference in Ottawa in December 2023. The federal government says the final offshore oil and gas permits for Canada's West Coast have been relinquished. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the relinquishment of the permits marked an important milestone in permanently protecting the ecologically rich waters of Canada's West Coast.

While there has been a federal moratorium on oil and gas exploration off the Pacific coast since 1972, permits issued before that date were still valid.

In a statement posted on its website on Feb. 9, Chevron Canada said it had no plans to pursue development of these offshore permits, which cover an estimated 5,900 square kilometres.

ExxonMobil gives up offshore oil permits in B.C.

"With these final permits, Natural Resources Canada has officially secured the surrender of all 227 permits in the Pacific offshore," Wilkinson said in a statement.

Several of the Chevron permits fell within marine protected areas, Wilkinson said.

Last year, U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil relinquished nine permits it held.