Call for Bids in Labrador South Region
In November 2016, the Canada‐Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C‐NLOPB) issued a Call for Bids NL16-CFB03 (Labrador South Region). This Call for Bids consists of 10 parcels and a total of 2,294,340 hectares. In August 2017, the C-NLOPB issued an update to advise that the close of this Call for Bids would be 120 days following the completion of the Labrador Shelf Offshore Area Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Update.
This SEA Update, an initiative being co-chaired by the C-NLOPB and the Nunatsiavut Government, is now on track to be completed in Summer 2021, enabling the Call for Bids to close before the end of the 2021 calendar year. The C-NLOPB will announce a precise closing date when the SEA Update has concluded. This Call for Bids in the Labrador South Region will be the only Call for Bids to proceed in 2021.
The C-NLOPB plans to conduct online public and Indigenous group engagement sessions on the draft SEA Update. Details on this engagement plan will be released in the next few weeks.
The SEA Update examines the potential environmental effects which may be associated with a plan, program or policy proposal and allows for the incorporation of environmental considerations at the earliest stages of program planning. The SEA Update involves a broader-scale environmental assessment (EA) that considers the larger ecological setting and engagement with a wide array of stakeholders.
Offshore safety and environmental protection are paramount in all Board decisions. The C-NLOPB supports the Government of Canada’s commitment to the protection of environmentally significant and sensitive areas, and will continue to work closely with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and others in this regard. In addition to the SEA Update described above, assessments of regional and/or site-specific issues will be completed before any work can begin within the licence area. The timing, spatial extent, and nature of proposed oil and gas activities, in addition to mitigations already prescribed by legislation, will determine the level of additional restriction or mitigation that may be required.
The C-NLOPB fully appreciates the importance of both the fisheries and petroleum sectors and will continue to engage with fisheries stakeholders and DFO throughout the land tenure process.
Updates to Scheduled Land Tenure Timing
Due to the current economic circumstances resulting in part from the ongoing global pandemic, an internal review was completed on the active land tenure areas.
As a result of the review, the C-NLOPB is amending its Scheduled Land Tenure System in relation to the timing of four active Low Activity sectors: NL02-SEN, NL02-LS, NL01-SN and NL01-NEN.
In order to provide greater certainty and predictability, below is the revised schedule:
NL02-SEN (South Eastern Newfoundland) – is now scheduled to close in 2023 (previously scheduled for 2021).
NL02-LS (Labrador South) – is now scheduled to close in 2025 (previously scheduled for 2023). This Sector is located southeast of the 2021 Call for Bids parcels, announced above.
NL01-SN (Southern Newfoundland) – is now scheduled to close in 2027 (previously scheduled for 2022).
NL01-NEN (North Eastern Newfoundland) – is now scheduled to close in 2029 (previously scheduled for 2024).
The C-NLOPB has decided not to proceed with a Call for Bids in the Jeanne d’Arc or South Eastern Regions in 2021. The decision to proceed with future Call for Bids in the Jeanne d’Arc Region will be assessed on an annual basis, per the C-NLOPB’s Scheduled Land Tenure System. As noted above, the Call for Bids planned for NL02-SEN and the associated Calls for Nominations (Parcels) have been modified to reflect a change in the Call for Bids timing to 2023.
Further detailed information about scheduled land tenure is available here.
Any parties interested in receiving email notifications on Scheduled Land Tenure related announcements can contact Shannon Bulger at [email protected].
Issued by C-NLOPB on April 8, 2021.
