B, as in billion: N.L. marks oil milestone

Oil pumped off Newfoundland's east coast hit the billion-barrel mark recently, Premier Danny Williams said.

Williams said the tally was recorded on Friday night, and marks the combined production of the three fields Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose in the offshore oil industry.

"Since first oil from Hibernia, we have established ourselves as a major player on the international energy scene," Williams said in a statement Monday.

Hibernia pumped its first barrel in 1997. Since then, Newfoundland and Labrador's output has amounted to almost half of Canada's production of conventional light crude.

The oil industry now accounts for about a third of the Newfoundland and Labrador government's revenue. The province has received royalties of more than $5 billion.

While surging revenues in recent years have allowed the government to retire debt, the recent crash in oil prices has put the province's bottom line at risk. Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy has warned the province will have to post a deficit in its next budget, as long as oil prices remain low.

Last year, a deal was reached to develop the Hebron project, which will become the fourth field off Newfoundland to go into production.