Shell Canada could begin exploratory oil drilling this year
Shell Canada could begin exploratory drilling for oil in the Shelburne Basin as early as this year.
Company has 4-year window to drill beginning in 2015
Shell Canada could begin exploratory drilling for oil in the Shelburne Basin as early as this year.
![](https://i.cbc.ca/1.1979679.1381473255!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/ns-mi-exxon-sable-platform.jpg?im=)
Leona Aglukkaq, Canada's environment minister, has released her environmental assessment, saying the project does not pose a significant environmental threat.
The company has a four-year window to drill beginning in 2015.
The basin is about 200 kilometers from Nova Scotia's southwest coast.
In 2013 Shell pegged the project's total price tag at $970 million.
The federal government says it may require further authorization from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.