Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced on Wednesday that his country, the world's fourth largest oil producer, has approved a large and controversial oil project that would allow it to extract 300 million barrels over 30 years from a field located off its Atlantic Ocean coast.

The project, called "Bay du Nord," which has been championed for many years by the Norwegian giant company "Equinor," will allow the exploitation of an oil field located at a depth of more than one kilometer and more than 500 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland province.

Oil production from this field is scheduled to begin in 2028.

The minister and former climate activist said, "The development project +Bay du Nord+ can move forward but according to some of the strictest environmental conditions ever, including the historic requirement imposed on an oil and gas project to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050."

Guilbeault explained that according to a comprehensive environmental assessment, the project is unlikely to cause significant negative environmental impacts.

This project, which environmental experts considered a real environmental challenge, posed a major dilemma for Justin Trudeau's government to the extent that the decision to approve it was postponed twice in recent months.

Justin Trudeau has often faced criticism in recent years from environmental advocates because of his decisions related to the oil sector, especially in 2018 when his government nationalized an oil pipeline.

However, Trudeau, who made strong climate commitments during the recent election campaign, said last October that "we must make sure that the oil and gas industry stops increasing its emissions and starts reducing them."