OTTAWA: The Canadian government will pay two US-based international companies more than $18.9 million under a ruling by a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tribunal, the official Global Affairs Canada website announced.
“Today… Canada made a payment to Mobil Investments Canada Inc. and Murphy Oil Corporation related to the 2015 decision of a NAFTA… tribunal regarding the companies’ Hibernia and Terra Nova offshore oil projects in Newfoundland and Labrador,” the announcement said on Monday.
The Canadian government regarded itself as bound under NAFTA to pay the companies even though it was “disappointed” with the ruling, the announcement noted.
“Although Canada is disappointed with the decision, the government takes its obligations under NAFTA very seriously… That is why the government is making this payment of $18,960,000,” the announcement said.
The government department known as Natural Resources Canada would work closely with the provincial governments of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as with the affected companies to find a long-term solution to the issue, it added.
