For Immediate Release Page 1 of 2
November 12, 2015
OFFSHORE BOARD ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF CALL FOR BIDS NS15-1
(Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) The Canada - Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB)’s Call for Bids NS15-1 process has resulted in two successful bids.
Statoil Canada Ltd. is the successful bidder for Parcels 1 and 2 with a total of $82,000,000 in Work Expenditure Bids. No bids were received on Parcels 3-9.
“The CNSOPB has notified the Federal Minister of Natural Resources and the Provincial Minister of Energy of these bids and awaits the approval of the Board’s Fundamental Decisions to issue licences,” said Stuart Pinks, CNSOPB CEO. If Ministerial Approvals are granted, the CNSOPB will issue two Exploration Licences on January 15th, 2016.
Work Expenditure Bids are the amount of money a bidder proposes to spend exploring the land parcels during the initial six-year period of a nine-year Exploration Licence. Successful bidders are required to post a deposit of 25 per cent of the amount of the bid to demonstrate their commitment. The following outlines the Work Expenditure Bid for each parcel:
|
Call for Bids NS15-1 |
Work Expenditure Bid |
|
Parcel 1 |
$5,815,000 |
|
Parcel 2 |
$76,185,000 |
|
Parcels 3-9 |
No bids received |
|
Total |
$82,000,000 |
The Terms of the Call for Bids required bidders for Parcels 1 to 7 to have experience in the drilling of exploration wells in water depths greater than 800 metres in the past ten years. Statoil Canada Ltd. has demonstrated that it has extensive worldwide experience in deepwater drilling including deepwater exploratory wells drilled offshore of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Strategic environmental assessments previously conducted by the CNSOPB identified certain environmental sensitivities as well concerns for fisheries that exist within, and adjacent to, the two Exploration Licences to be issued. “The issuance of an Exploration Licence does not give authorization to conduct any work offshore,” said Mr. Pinks. “The CNSOPB will require a project-specific environmental assessment to be conducted for any proposed offshore work, and must be satisfied that it is unlikely to cause significant adverse environmental effects before issuing any authorization.” Mr. Pinks added that a project specific environmental assessment may identify additional or alternative mitigation measures that would then be affixed as conditions to such authorizations to further enhance environmental protection.
The next Call for Bids will be issued in April 2016 with nominations closing on December 1, 2015. In addition, the CNSOPB has a three year plan for lands which may be included in future Calls for Bids. This can be found at www.cnsopb.ns.ca. Further information about Call for Bids NS15-1 can also be found at www.callforbids.ca.
The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board is the independent joint agency of the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia responsible for the regulation of petroleum activities and resources offshore Nova Scotia.
Backgrounder - Call for Bids NS15-1 Results
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For further information, please contact:
Kathleen Funke
Advisor, Communications
Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board
Direct (902) 496-0750
Reception (902) 422-5588
Email: kfunke@cnsopb.ns.ca
Full Background Information, including maps, can be found at www.cnsopb.ns.ca and www.callforbids.ca.