1. We are WSP
  2. What we do
  3. Projects
  4. Weathering the impossible

In the rugged fjord of Bull Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador, WSP delivered advanced weather intelligence. Over five years, our team provided pinpoint forecasting to guide one of Canada’s most complex offshore oil and gas construction projects. By blending on-site meteorology with high-resolution modelling and data analytics, we helped our client navigate hurricanes, sea ice, high seas, and winter storms. Our work didn't just help keep a multibillion megastructure on track: it kept hundreds of workers safe, empowered local economies, and helped a province turn weather into an opportunity. This is forecasting at its boldest.

Client

Project Status

  • Complete

When the wind is everything

Every decision began with a single question: What’s the weather going to do next?

In Bull Arm, where storms are frequent and sea ice can persist into summer, even a gust of wind could set back a $10 billion offshore oil and gas platform.

WSP was brought in to turn volatile conditions into confident decisions.

We became a nerve centre for decision-making – transforming chaotic environmental conditions into calculated, confident actions. And through it all, we kept one goal in sight: helping Newfoundland and Labrador build something that would change lives, safely and on time.

We didn’t just forecast weather – we engineered trust

The Hebron project was epic in scale and ambition: a 50,000-ton topside structure, the largest in the world, was lifted, floated, mated with a massive concrete base, towed and installed on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador, all in one of the most volatile marine climates on Earth. Operations were weather-sensitive, timelines were tight, and stakes were enormous. A single bad call could mean millions in delays, or worse.

WSP deployed a multi-layered weather intelligence program that combined.

  • On-site meteorologists providing real-time decision support.
  • Custom high-resolution modelling for wind, waves, ocean currents, and sea ice.
  • A continuous improvement program using machine learning to refine predictions.
  • A network of monitoring stations across the fjord.

The human impact: Fewer risks, more opportunities

“It was our job to keep everyone safe, and we did,” says Terry Bullock, WSP’s Principal Meteorologist and on-site lead. “When your forecast determines if a billion-dollar module moves or not, you take every knot of wind into account.”

Terry and his team supported daily decision meetings, often in the early hours, assessing conditions to green-light or delay critical operations. Their work allowed slipform concrete pouring, barge maneuvering, heavy-lift installations, and the platform tow-out to proceed within tight weather windows.

Each accurate forecast meant workers stayed safe, costly delays were avoided, and the local economy kept moving.

More than data: A story of resilience and reinvention

One moment captures it all: the Living Quarters Module Installation, where a towering structure with a high centre of gravity on a barge had to be moved and placed with millimetre precision, on a day when even a sea breeze would have shut the operation down.

We spent three years preparing for that one day. And when the window came, the wind dropped exactly when and where we said it would.

The result? A flawless installation, completed in under 12 hours, in one of the windiest places on Earth.

5% of a province’s GDP and one forecast away from success

This wasn’t just a project, it was a pillar of Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy. The Hebron platform represents some 5% of the province’s GDP, with ripple effects through jobs, local suppliers, and energy production.

WSP’s expertise helped ensure it launched on schedule.

At one point, extreme sea ice delayed platform tow-out by a month. With new high-resolution modelling and data-sharing partnerships, including with the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, we provided custom sea ice forecasts to anticipate break-up. This precision allowed the team to act the moment a safe corridor opened.

Bull Arm's economic heartbeat didn’t miss a beat.

KPIs and achievements

  • Forecast accuracy improved by 50% through machine learning and continuous model refinement.
  • 24/365 forecasting support across marine, wind, sea state, and ice conditions.
  • Zero weather-related accidents during key lift and transport operations.
  • 3 years of microscale climatology and data analytics to support single-day marine operations.
  • Successful float-over of the world’s most massive topsides and GBS mating operation successfully completed in Newfoundland's winter storm season.
  • The longest tow-to-sea of an Oil and Gas installation.

Meet the Visioneers

Terry Bullock, with over 30 years of experience, was more than a meteorologist, he was often the project's nerve centre. His twice-daily briefings and on-the-ground insights steered decision-making teams through some of the most sensitive marine operations ever attempted in Canada.

Backed by WSP’s Digital Environment forecast team, data scientists like Steven Beale, and an oceanography crew including John McClintock and Patrick Roussel, this was true multidisciplinary excellence. Together, they made marine meteorology smarter, faster, and safer.

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We were doing things no one else in Canada was doing: high-resolution modeling, AI, custom forecasts, and risk prediction and mitigation for our client. You won’t find that level of expertise anywhere else.

A legacy that reaches beyond the platform

The Hebron project has become a blueprint for the future of Advanced Weather Intelligence, a fusion of digital innovation, scientific rigour, and human insight. Today, WSP is working on the next generation of forecasting solutions, supported by academic and government partners from York University to the Marine Institute at Memorial University.

Our team continues to push the boundaries of what weather services can do for clients, communities, and climate resilience.

Other challenges that we have overcome