Don't hold breath on final Hebron deal: Williams

Premier Danny Williams said speculation that a final deal on Newfoundland and Labrador's fourth offshore oilfield will be announced this week is likely too optimistic.

Rumours in the oil industry have kicked into overdrive that details on a final Hebron agreement would be announced at the Newfoundland Offshore Industries Association conference this week.

But Williams — who announced a memorandum of understanding last August that outlined how the Newfoundland and Labrador government would purchase a 4.9 per cent equity stake — said a final deal is probably not going to happen so soon.

"I can't be overly optimistic that we will achieve it by [then]," Williams told reporters Friday afternoon.

"A tentative deadline that we looked at was to do an announcement for NOIA. We're still working towards that, but as time goes on it becomes less likely because of the complexity of finalizing the legal arrangement including [some] of the major principles."

Williams said it is impossible to rush such a complex process along to meet a particular deadline.

However, he said he's confident a final deal will be in place within a reasonable period.

Chevron Canada Resources, the operator of the Hebron project, has notified leaseholders of its office space in St. John's that it needs the space back.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has said it expects Hebron to generate government revenues of about $16 billion over a projected 25-year lifespan.