RE: EASTERN NEWFOUNDLAND REGION SECTOR IDENTIFICATION
In accordance with the rights issuance cycle for Scheduled Land Tenure, the Board has now concluded its assessment of the nominations received in response to Call for Nominations NL13-01EN (Areas of Interest – Scheduled Lands). For the Eastern Newfoundland Region of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area, the selected Sector NL01-EN is described in the attached land plat and legal description; all co-ordinates are in NAD 27, the datum used in all exploration licence land descriptions.
A sector represents the specific geographic location for the subsequent call for bids. Interested parties will be given an opportunity to nominate parcels within the sector at a later date. The complete sector area will be subdivided into parcels which will be made available for licencing subject to a Board decision and Ministerial ratification. The Board anticipates a call for bids in relation to these lands in the spring of 2015. A call for bids is a fundamental decision under the Atlantic Accord legislation and is therefore subject to Ministerial approval.
In the interim, any allowable exploration expenses incurred from the date of the initial announcement of the call for nominations on December 19, 2013, up to and including the effective date of the resulting exploration licence, may be claimed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the exploration licence by the successful bidder. These new credits would be in addition to those allowable expenditures currently available for credit during the term of the licence. Licence issuance is also subject to Ministerial approval.
The Board is presently completing the Eastern Newfoundland Strategic Environmental Assessment (2013). Any petroleum-based activity proposed for the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area will also be the subject of a project-specific environmental assessment, which would form part of the basis for a C-NLOPB authorization and set out any mitigations or restrictions to be applied before a proposed activity can proceed. Safety and environmental protection are paramount considerations in all C-NLOPB authorizations.
For further information, please contact:
Media Contact:
Sean Kelly M.A., APR, FCPRS
Manager of Public Relations
(709) 778-1418
(709) 689-0713 (cell)
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca