The following is being distributed at the request of the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board:

Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board releases
Flemish Pass Basin hydrocarbon resource estimate

The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (the board) has released an estimate of the Undiscovered Hydrocarbon Resources¹ in the Flemish Pass Basin. The estimate, carried out with assistance from the Geological Survey of Canada, is part of the board�s ongoing evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area.

The Flemish Pass Basin, comparable in size to the Jeanne d�Arc Basin, has been explored by five wells. Although no commercial accumulations of hydrocarbons have yet been found, hydrocarbon shows were encountered.

The Undiscovered Hydrocarbon Resources¹ in the basin are calculated at 273 million m³ (1.7 billion barrels) at a 50 per cent probability with expected field sizes ranging from 528 to 44 million barrels.

The document Hydrocarbon Potential of the Flemish Pass Basin, Offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, is available on CD from the board�s office.

1.   Undiscovered Hydrocarbon Resources is a term normally used to describe those   volumes of hydrocarbons that are inferred to exist and assessed to be technically recoverable but have unknown economic viability.

Source: Dr. Neil DeSilva, Manager, Exploration, (709) 778-1421

Media contact: Simone Keough, APR, Manager, Communications, (709) 778-1418

2004 05 20                                       10:25 a.m.