Sable Job Numbers Jump to 1,700 in N.S.

The Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) now employs nearly 1,700 people in Nova Scotia. As of Sept. 30, 1,697 people were working on the project in the province, an increase of 308 jobs or 18 per cent over figures released in August.

The total number of SOEP jobs currently stands at 3,137, of which 54 per cent are in Nova Scotia. The Sable Offshore Energy Project compiled the figures and provided them to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and the Nova Scotia Petroleum Directorate.

"It's clear that this project continues to fuel Nova Scotia's economy," said Premier Russell MacLellan. "This is just the beginning of a long list of job opportunities that people in the province can look forward to in relation to the offshore industry."

In addition to the 1,697 Nova Scotia jobs, the new figures show that 1,267 people are working on the project in other countries. Another 173 people are working on the project in other parts of Canada. These numbers include only those directly employed by the Sable Offshore Energy Project and their major contractors, but does not include those employed by about 350 vendor firms that have supplied products and services to the project.

"The Nova Scotia government believes in the future of the offshore and the wealth of energy resources that exists," said the premier. "Our province's workforce continues to gain offshore expertise, and the number of job opportunities continues to grow in response to current and future projects."

Another 1,700 people are expected to begin work next year on the main pipeline that will ship the gas to Maritime and New England markets.