March 29, 1999
(Mines and Energy)

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

1999 Call for Bids

The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board has announced that there will be a 1999 Call for Bids in the Newfoundland offshore area. The call will comprise 10 parcels, two located in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin (Parcels 7 and 8), six in the Flemish Pass (Parcels 1 to 6) and two adjacent to the Newfoundland west coast area (Parcels 9 and 10). These parcels comprise a total of 1,316,438 hectares.

Interested parties will have until 4 p.m. on November 17 to submit sealed bids. The sole criterion for selecting winning bids will be the total amount of money the bidder commits to spend on exploration of the respective parcel during the first five years. The minimum bid for parcels in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin and Flemish Pass is $1 million. The minimum bid for the west coast parcels is $250,000. Successful bidders will be issued an exploration licence for a term of nine years, during the first five years of which, a well must be drilled to validate the licence for the full nine-year term.

For a complete copy of the text of this Call for Bids visit the C-NOPB website at: www.cnopb.nfnet.com. The C-NOPB web site also has illustrations showing the available parcels.

For further information, please contact: H.H. (Hal) Stanley, Chairman and CEO, (709) 778-1456 or D. Angus Taylor, Manager, Legal and Land, (709) 778-1458.

1999 03 29 1:35 p.m.