Report outlines petroleum potential of areas within C-NLOPB 2006 Call for Bids

Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources, advised today that the first of three geological reports outlining the petroleum potential of areas included within the recent Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) 2006 Call for Bids has been publicly released by the Department of Natural Resources.

"Reports such as these are one of the key components in the promotion of our province�s oil and gas sector," said Minister Dunderdale. "This year�s Call for Bids is further evidence that our petroleum industry continues to be active on several fronts, any of which could bring the next big discovery."

On March 22 of this year, the C-NLOPB announced three separate calls for bids for selected lands located around the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area. The Call for Bids includes 11 parcels of land in total, and are designated among the Jeanne d�Arc Basin, Sydney Basin and the Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Region. The three areas comprise in total approximately 1,712,758 hectares.

The closing date for bids is 4:00 p.m. on November 15, for the Jeanne d�Arc and Sydney Basin regions, whereas bids will be accepted for the Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Region up to 4:00 p.m. on November 30, in order to accommodate the completion of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for this region.

This first report provides a comprehensive analysis of the hydrocarbon prospectivity for the land parcels within the Jeanne d�Arc Basin. In addition, the report also gives background and detailed information on the exploration potential of the sedimentary basins and sub-basins located offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. According to the minister, the report contains a wealth of information useful to companies who are currently exploring or those planning to explore for hydrocarbons in the offshore areas of the province.

The minister also noted that, "The province has released a number of these reports over the past several years and they may, in part, attribute to the $784 million in direct work expenditures committed by exploration companies over the past three C-NLOPB land sales." Reports for the other two Call for Bid areas should be available within a few weeks.

The report can be accessed at: //www.gov.nl.ca/mines&en/call_for_bids/nl06_1.pdf

Media contact: Tracy Barron, Communications, (709) 729-5282, 690-1703

2006 08 18                             10:20 a.m.