Update on Mobil Investments Canada Inc. and Murphy Oil Corp.

News Release

April 4, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

Today the Government of Canada made a payment to Mobil Investments Canada Inc. and Murphy Oil Corporation related to the 2015 decision of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) arbitral tribunal regarding the companies’ Hibernia and Terra Nova offshore oil projects in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The tribunal found that the application of the 2004 Guidelines for Research and Development Expenditures by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) breached Canada’s NAFTA obligations.

Although Canada is disappointed with the decision, the government takes its obligations under NAFTA very seriously. NAFTA establishes a framework that provides investors with a predictable, rules-based investment climate. That is why the government is making this payment of $18,960,678.

As the federal department jointly responsible for the C-NLOPB with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Natural Resources Canada today remitted the funds to the companies. Natural Resources Canada will continue to work closely with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and affected companies to find a long-term solution to this issue.

This dispute represents a very small portion of the billions of investment dollars that Canada attracts and the billions of dollars that Canadian companies invest abroad.

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