The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board announced today the details of the 2009 Calls for Bids in the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area. This year, there will be three separate Calls for Bids.

Call for Bids NL09-01 (Jeanne d’Arc Basin) will consist of one parcel, Call for Bids NL09-02 (Laurentian Subbasin) will consist of two parcels, and Call for Bids NL09-03 (Western Newfoundland, Labrador Offshore Region) will consist of one parcel. These parcels comprise 513,769 hectares.

Interested parties will have until 4:00 p.m. on November 19, 2009 to submit sealed bids for parcels offered in Calls for Bids NL09-01 (Jeanne d’Arc Basin) and NL09-03 (Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Region). These areas have been previously assessed to identify any mitigative measures that may be required in relation to exploration activity on these parcels.

Interested parties will have until 4:00 p.m. on November 19, 2009 to submit sealed bids for Call for Bids NL09-02 (Laurentian Subbasin). The Board will conduct a Southern Newfoundland Strategic Environmental Assessment (2009) prior to the close of Call for Bids No. NL09-02 (Laurentian Subbasin). A draft of the SEA report will be published on the Board’s website for public comment when it becomes available. The Board will consider any recommendations made in the SEA Report and, where necessary, may amend the respective Call for Bids NL09-02 (Laurentian Subbasin) to ensure concerns are addressed. Any mitigative measures identified in the SEA report will have to be addressed prior to the commencement of exploration work to be conducted on these parcels.

Notification of any changes made to these three 2009 Calls for Bids will be posted on the Board’s website, including any extensions to the closing date to accommodate the completion of the SEA Report in relation to Call for Bids NL09-02 (Laurentian Subbasin).

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 2009 Calls for Bids is one million dollars for each parcel offered in the Jeanne d’Arc and Laurentian Subbasins and a minimum bid of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the parcel offered in the Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Region.

The 2009 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 which incorporates 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.

For a complete copy of the text of the 2009 Calls for Bids, visit the C-NLOPB website at www.cnlopb.nl.ca.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Sean Kelly APR,FCPRS
Manager of Public Relations
(709) 778-1418
(709) 689-0713 (cell)
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca