News Releases 2022

C-NLOPB Announces 2022 Calls for Bids in the Eastern Newfoundland and South Eastern Newfoundland Regions

For Immediate Release
May 11, 2022

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has issued Calls for Bids for Exploration Licences in the Eastern Newfoundland and South Eastern Newfoundland Regions.

Call for Bids NL22-CFB01 (Exploration Licences, Eastern Newfoundland Region) consists of 28 parcels and a total of 7,005,595 hectares.

Call for Bids NL22-CFB02 (Exploration Licences, South Eastern Newfoundland Region) consists of 10 parcels and a total of 2,665,292 hectares.

Interested parties will have until 12:00 p.m. NST on November 2, 2022 to submit sealed bids for the parcels offered in these Calls for Bids. Notification of any changes to either of the Calls for Bids will be posted on the C-NLOPB’s website.

The issuance of these Calls for Bids has received C-NLOPB Board approval, along with ratification by the federal and Newfoundland and Labrador governments. Those steps will also be required in the awarding of any Exploration Licences to successful bidders, which would occur in early 2023.

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.

Offshore safety and environmental protection are paramount in all Board decisions. The C-NLOPB supports action by the federal and provincial governments to address climate change and protect notable marine areas, and will continue to work closely with governments and others in this regard. Emissions-related considerations will be assessed as part of the regulatory review process when companies propose specific plans.

Planning, monitoring and assessment of offshore petroleum activities will ensure they occur in an environmentally responsible way. Required regional and/or site-specific mitigation measures will be undertaken before any petroleum-related operations can begin within a licence area, as conditions of C-NLOPB approvals and authorizations. The timing, spatial extent, and nature of proposed oil and gas activities, in addition to mitigations already prescribed by legislation or regulation, will determine the level of restriction or mitigation that may be required.

The Eastern and South Eastern Newfoundland Regions include a number of important areas for fish harvesters who fish crab and other species. The C-NLOPB fully appreciates the importance of both the fisheries and petroleum sectors and will continue to engage with fisheries stakeholders, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), other federal and provincial agencies and other stakeholders throughout the land tenure process. Any companies acquiring Exploration Licences pursuant to this Call for Bids will be required to engage with fishing interests before any oil and gas activities are authorized.

Some of the parcels in these 2022 Calls for Bids also overlap the Northeast Newfoundland Slope Marine Refuge. The C-NLOPB is focused on the protection of environmentally significant areas and will also continue to work closely with DFO and others in this regard.

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.

Based on an assessment of nominations and land tenure considerations, the C-NLOPB has decided not to proceed with a Call for Bids in the Jeanne d’Arc Region in 2022. The decision to proceed with future Call for Bids in the Jeanne d’Arc Region will be assessed on an annual basis, per the C-NLOPB’s Scheduled Land Tenure System.

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) 725-2900
lrideout@cnlopb.ca

Stakeholder Contact:
Stephanie Johnson, P.Geo
Director, Offshore and Information Resources
(709) 778-4246
sjohnson@cnlopb.ca


News Releases 2022

DateUpdate
2022, Dec 16Charges Laid Against Suncor Energy Inc. in Relation to Injured Worker on Terra Nova FPSO in December 2019 Incident
2022, Nov 2C-NLOPB Releases Results for 2022 Calls for Bids
2022, Sep 20C-NLOPB Announces 2022 Call for Nominations (Parcels) in the Jeanne d’Arc Region
2022, Sep 2Charges laid against Transocean Canada Drilling Services Ltd. in relation to the September 6, 2019 Injured Worker on the MODU Transocean Barents
2022, Jul 5Charges Laid Against Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. in Relation to the July 17, 2019 Spill from the Hibernia Platform
2022, Jun 24C-NLOPB Announces Update of Reserve Estimate for the Hibernia Field
2022, May 16C-NLOPB Identifies New Sector for Scheduled Land Tenure in the Eastern Newfoundland Region
2022, May 11C-NLOPB Announces 2022 Calls for Bids in the Eastern Newfoundland and South Eastern Newfoundland Regions
2022, Apr 26C-NLOPB Announces Update of Reserve Estimate for the North Amethyst Field
2022, Apr 8C-NLOPB Issues Administrative Monetary Penalty to Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. in Response to August 2019 Spill
2022, Apr 8C-NLOPB Rescinds Order Respecting Essential Employees
2022, Mar 28Bilingual Services now available at the C-NLOPB, including new French website
2022, Feb 14C-NLOPB Reflects on the 40th Anniversary of the Ocean Ranger Disaster
2022, Jan 14C-NLOPB Issues Call for Nominations for Areas of Interest (Eastern Newfoundland)