New Hibernia South application in wings, minister says

Hibernia Management and Development plans to refile its application to develop an area that could extend the field's life by years, Newfoundland and Labrador's natural resources minister says.

Kathy Dunderdale, who announced last week that the government was rejecting a development plan for Hibernia South, met with Hibernia officials Thursday in St. John's.

She told CBC News that the meeting was positive but thegovernment wants more information on such issues as the benefits it can expect fromthe offshore oildevelopment.

Hibernia intends to file again, she said, although that does not necessarily mean an automaticgreen light.

"We can't decide whether or not we will approve the application until we get the information that we've outlined," Dunderdale said.

"Until we have all the gaps that we see in the information filled, and we're able to do an analysis of that, only then can we make a decision one way or the other."

Hibernia officially estimates that the Hibernia South area contains at least 223 million recoverable barrels of oil. The provincial government has suggested that that figure could be much more and that the field is as large as the White Rose field already in production.

Dunderdale said she does not know when Hibernia's partners intend to refile their application to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. She said it could be a matter of months.

Hibernia had wanted to begin drilling in Hibernia South in 2008.