Canada has seized control of all 227 offshore oil and gas exploration and production permits off its Pacific coast through a voluntary relinquishment process of the last remaining oil and gas permits in the area. All offshore oil and gas operations on Canada’s west coast have been on a federal moratorium since 1972, but any permits granted before this were still active and available for development. The last 23 permits were in hands of Chevron Canada, who voluntarily relinquished its permits in February 2024, putting a stop to further hydrocarbon extraction activities in the area.
In 2023, ExxonMobil and Chevron surrendered 20 offshore oil and gas exploration permits off the coast of British Columbia, following a lawsuit challenge brought by Ecojustice (Canada’s largest environmental law charity), with several of the areas that covered those permits being transformed in protected marine zones.
At the end of 2022, Canada had the third largest proven oil reserves with over 26,500 Mt and 2,471 bcm of gas reserves.
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