The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has issued Calls for Bids for Exploration Licences in the South Eastern Newfoundland and Jeanne d’Arc Regions.
Interested parties will have until 12:00 p.m. NST on November 6, 2019 to submit sealed bids for the parcels offered in these Calls for Bids. Notification of any changes to these Calls for Bids will be posted on the Board’s website.
The sole criterion for selecting a winning bid will be the total amount of money the bidder commits to spend on exploration of the parcel during Period I (the first period of a nine-year licence). The minimum bid for the parcels offered is $10,000,000 in work commitments.
These Calls for Bids parcels are included in the 2014 Eastern Newfoundland Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The SEA examines the environmental effects which may be associated with a plan, program or policy proposal and allows for the incorporation of environmental considerations at the earliest stages of program planning. SEA involves a broader-scale environmental assessment (EA) that considers the larger ecological setting and consultation with a wide array of stakeholders. The Board is discussing with the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador potential new approaches to environmental assessments, details of which will be released as they become available.
Assessments of regional and/or site-specific issues will be completed before any work can begin within the licence area. The timing, spatial extent, and nature of proposed oil and gas activities, in addition to mitigations already prescribed by legislation, will determine the level of additional restriction or mitigation that may be required. Any additional measures would be determined during the project-specific environmental assessment and/or other regulatory approval processes.
For any lands entirely or partially beyond Canada’s 200 nautical mile zone, additional terms and conditions may be applied (e.g., through legislation, regulations, amendments to licences or otherwise) to any resulting licence from a Call for Bids in order to meet obligations arising pursuant to article 82 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Offshore safety and environmental protection are paramount in all Board decisions. The C-NLOPB will not approve any offshore petroleum related activity until an Operator demonstrates that it has met all legislative and regulatory requirements and has reduced risks to levels that are as low as reasonably practicable. The C-NLOPB supports the protection of environmentally significant and sensitive areas, and will continue to work closely with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and other federal and provincial departments in this regard.
The issuance of any Call for Bids requires C-NLOPB Board approval and ratification by federal and provincial governments. Further detailed information about these Calls for Bids is available here.
Any parties interested in receiving email notifications on Scheduled Land Tenure related announcements can contact Shannon Bulger at sbulger@cnlopb.ca.
Media Contact:
Lesley Rideout
Communications Lead
(709) 778-4224
(709) 725-2900 (cell)
lrideout@cnlopb.ca
Stakeholder Contact:
Stephanie Johnson, P.Geo
Acting Director of Exploration and Information Resources
(709) 778-4246
sjohnson@cnlopb.ca