TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Onshore and offshore oil and gas industry veteran Roderick Keith MacLeod has been appointed the new chairperson for the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB), which is responsible for the regulation of petroleum activities in the Nova Scotia offshore area.
Canada Minister of Natural Resources Greg Rickford and Nova Scotia Minister of Energy Michel Samson announced the decision on Friday, after concluding an advertised, competitive, joint federal and provincial government process, supported by the Privy Council Office.
MacLeod would serve part time for a term of six years, effective from August 17.
MacLeod, a professional engineer and senior executive would bring to the CNSOPB more than 30 years of industry experience both in Canada and abroad.
The CNSOPB was established in 1990 through the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act to regulate the Nova Scotia offshore oil and gas industry.
Nova Scotia had two producing offshore projects, the Sable offshore petroleum project and Deep Panuke. In 2014, the province exported 156-million cubic feet a day of natural gas from these two installations, the equivalent of 44.7% of daily Nova Scotia output.
Between January 2000 and March 2015, the federal government had collected about $2-billion in royalties from projects operating in the offshore area and had transferred an equivalent amount to the province of Nova Scotia.