Making the most of Nunavut’s reserves

No exploration for oil and gas is going on in Nunavut, said Ed Picco, the minister responsible for Energy, although the High Arctic region has an estimated 35 per cent of known resources in Canada.

That’s because the federal government has allowed PetroCanada to hold those licenses and not exercise their option, Picco said.

Picco said studies indicate that over the next 20 years, royalties could provide over $500 million on the Melville Island site alone, if that goes into production.

“When you’re holding almost a quarter of all known natural gas and oil opportunities it bodes well for Nunavut’s future,” Picco said.

Picco said he wrote to Ottawa, before the January election, suggesting the federal government release PetroCanada, “so that we can actually get some frontier drilling occurring in Nunavut.”

“With some of the issues around climate change and global warming, I think that’s an opportune time to do that,” Picco said.