The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board today announces details of the 2008 land sales in the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area. This year, there will be four separate Calls for Bids.

Call for Bids NL08-1 (Central Ridge/Flemish Pass) will consist of three parcels, Call for Bids NL08-2 (Jeanne d’Arc Basin) will consist of two parcels, Call for Bids NL08-03 (Sydney Basin) will consist of three parcels and Call for Bids NL08-04 (Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Region) will consist of two parcels. These parcels comprise a total of 1,727,610 hectares.

Interested parties will have until 4:00 p.m. on November 14, 2008 to submit sealed bids for Call for Bids NL08-01 (Central Ridge/Flemish Pass) and Call for Bids NL08-02 (Jeanne d’Arc Basin). Interested parties will have until 4:00 p.m. on November 28, 2008 to submit sealed bids for Call for Bids NL08-03 (Sydney Basin) and Call for Bids NL08-04 (Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Region). Notification of any changes made to these 2008 Calls for Bids will be posted on the Board’s website.

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 Period I. The minimum bid for each parcel offered in the 2008 Calls for Bids is one million dollars, except for Call for Bids NL08-04 (Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Region) where the minimum bid is two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

The 2008 Calls for Bids contain provisions for rentals during the term of an exploration licence and during the term of any resulting significant discovery licence. Each Call for Bids contains a sample exploration licence and a sample significant discovery licence.

Subject to Ministerial approval, successful bidders will be issued an exploration licence for a term of 9 years; however, during Period I, a well must be spudded to validate the licence for the full 9-year term. Period I may be extended by one year by posting an additional deposit of one million dollars as security for drilling a well on a parcel (drilling deposit for Western Newfoundland is two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.).

For a complete copy of the text of the 2008 Calls for Bids, visit the C-NLOPB website at www.cnlopb.nl.ca.

Media Contact:
Sean Kelly APR
Manager, Public Relations
(709) 778-1418
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca