Today, the Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources, highlighted record bids for exploration licenses offshore that have been received as a result of the most recent calls for bids in the Eastern Newfoundland Region and Jeanne d’Arc Regions, both located in the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area.
There was a cumulative total of $1.38 billion in bids and a record single bid of $621 million from BHP Billiton Petroleum in the Eastern Newfoundland region – evidence that the Advance 2030 plan developed between the Provincial Government and industry is attracting investment and growing activity in the Newfoundland and Labrador oil and gas industry.
The bid process is managed by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) which released the successful bids today at www.cnlopb.ca/news/nr20181107/.
Newfoundland and Labrador has five producing fields, more than 650 leads and prospects, and an ongoing, world-class seismic program with more than 20 basins mapped. There have been eight new entrants in the past two years, and $3.9 billion in recent exploration work commitments.
An immediate priority of government is to drive exploration in the oil and gas industry as presented in Advance 2030 – The Way Forward on Oil and Gas, which is a key initiative of The Way Forward aimed at strengthening the province’s economic foundation. The Way Forward outlines all actions the Provincial Government is taking to achieve a strong, diversified province with a high standard of living, and can be viewed at thewayforward.gov.nl.ca.
Quotes
“Our government is committed to working collaboratively with companies worldwide to realize the full potential of our oil and gas industry, and maximize benefits for the people we serve. I am very pleased to see this record for bids, and look forward to more positive developments in the years to come.”
Honourable Dwight Ball
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
“It’s exciting news for Newfoundland and Labrador that a record bid was set during the most recent calls for bids – a cumulative total of $1.38 billion. I’m also pleased to see that we had a record single bid of $621 million with a new entrant, BHP, which is a world-leading resources company. The resource potential in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador is incredible. In less than 7 per cent of the province’s offshore, there is a combined resource potential of 49.2 billion barrels of oil and 193.8 trillion cubic feet of gas. We are seeing success in our plan to drive exploration and grow the province’s offshore through Advance 2030. This success confirms us as a global centre of interest for the world’s oil and gas exploration companies.”
Honourable Siobhan Coady
Minister of Natural Resources
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Learn more
C-NLOPB Announces 2018 Calls for Bids in the Eastern Newfoundland and Jeanne d’Arc Regions
2018 Independent Oil and Gas Resource Assessment
Government Launches Virtual Data Room for Oil and Gas Industry
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Media contact
Nancy Hollett
Natural Resources
709-729-5777, 685-3372
nancyhollett@gov.nl.ca