St. John’s, NL (November 10, 2016) – The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has announced the results of Call for Bids NL16-CFB01 in the Eastern Newfoundland Region and Call for Bids NL16-CFB02 in the Jeanne d’Arc Region, both located in the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area.
The total value of the bids was $757,989,794 in work commitments. Of that total, $513,972,018 is the value of work commitments made in the Eastern Newfoundland Region. In this region, successful operators and investors are BP Canada Energy Group, Hess Canada Oil and Gas, Noble Energy Canada, Nexen Energy and Delek Group (Navitas Petroleum Ltd. and DKL Investments Ltd.).
“This is one of the most successful land sales in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history. This is especially significant given a year of very disappointing sales globally in 2016,” said Raymond Collins, Chair of Noia’s Board of Directors. “These results demonstrate that the Newfoundland and Labrador deepwater region is a highly sought after investment area for global E&P companies – despite current low oil prices. Our deepwater basins hold significant potential for future growth in oil & gas exploration, development and production and this is very positive news for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and for the continued growth of the province’s offshore industry.”
In the Jeanne D’Arc Region, the total value of bids was $244,017,776 for two parcels of land awarded to Husky Oil Operations Limited.
“We are also very pleased to see Husky Energy’s commitment to the mature Jeanne d’Arc region. There is no doubt that this basin has served this province very well, but as evidenced by Husky’s interest, there is still opportunity to maximize the area’s remaining resources,” added Mr. Collins.
This the second land sale under the Scheduled Land Tenure System in the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area and the second time in the history of the province’s offshore that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and global oil & gas companies had a public report outlining the oil & gas resource potential for the area prior to bids closing. Future license rounds scheduled through 2020 will follow the same process with detailed resource assessments being conducted and released prior to bid closing.
Robert Cadigan, Noia President & CEO, also noted the importance of Nalcor Energy’s ongoing geoscience program and its importance to developing a long-term, sustainable industry. Earlier this fall, an independent resource assessment covering the area of the West Orphan Basin identified 25.5 billion barrels of oil and 20.6 trillion cubic feet of gas potential. This assessment was instrumental in securing the high level of bids received today, positioning Newfoundland and Labrador to compete for global exploration capital against other jurisdictions.
“Noia has always been extremely supportive of Nalcor’s world-class seismic and exploration work. Nalcor’s rigorous multi-client 2D & 3D seismic programs are working to reduce risk and are succeeding in increasing Newfoundland and Labrador’s ability to attract global exploration investment. The positive outcome of today’s bids clearly demonstrates the additional value that this type of data and resource evaluation provides and the potential of our oil & gas resources to transform our province,” added Mr. Cadigan.
Further information and a list of bidders is available on the C-NLOPB’s website.
