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The following statement was issued today by Ed Byrne, Minister of Natural Resources. It was also read in the House of Assembly: I am pleased to inform the House of Assembly today the results of the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board�s (C-NOPB) Call for Bids that closed on November 17. A total of $71.1 million in work commitment bids were received for five parcels in the Jeanne d�Arc Basin area in the 2004 Call for Bids. Two of the five parcels went to Husky Oil Operations Ltd., one to Petro-Canada/Husky, one to Petro-Canada/Norsk Hydro and one to the consortium of partners in the Hibernia Field. The Jeanne d�Arc Basin is home to our two producing projects as well as the White Rose development, which will soon go into production, and the Hebron BenNevis discovery. This land sale shows there is plenty of life left in our most explored basin. The area of petroleum potential in our offshore is vast and the amount of drilling that has occurred is still very low. Therefore, there is plenty of remaining opportunity for the existing players and for new players. During the past five years industry has committed to spending in excess of $1 billion in the offshore area. This includes the 2003 land sale when $673 million was committed in the Orphan Basin. The area offered in this year�s Call for Bids was only one-eighth of the area on which bids were received last year and, therefore, there was not any expectation the most recent bid would match last year�s record sale. There is exploration proceeding on several fronts and during the past year seismic exploration occurred in the Orphan Basin, the Laurentian Basin and offshore Labrador. The level of exploration that is occurring bodes well for the future of our industry. It is exploration that is needed to ensure the long-term viability of our petroleum sector. We will continue to work cooperatively with these companies toward advancing our offshore industry and we wish them great success in their exploration efforts. We also welcome new players to come to Newfoundland and Labrador and be a part of our emerging oil and gas sector. 2004 11 23 1:45 p.m. |
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