The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) is issuing, under its scheduled land tenure system, a Call for Nominations (Parcels) NL18-CFN02 in the South Eastern Newfoundland Region (Sector NL01-SEN) and a Call for Nominations (Parcels) NL18-CFN03 in the Jeanne d’Arc Region. These Calls for Nominations will assist the C-NLOPB in selecting parcels to be included in subsequent 2019 Calls for Bids, which will close in November 2019, pending Board approval and ratification by the federal and provincial governments. Any successful bidders would be awarded licences in early 2020.

The South Eastern Newfoundland Sector NL01-SEN and the Jeanne d’Arc Region were included in the Eastern Newfoundland Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) concluded by the C-NLOPB, with input from a multi-stakeholder working group in 2014. The SEA examined the environmental effects that may be associated with a plan, program or policy proposal, allowing 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. Further information on the Eastern Newfoundland SEA can be found here.

Offshore safety and environmental protection are paramount in all Board decisions. The C-NLOPB supports the Government of Canada’s commitment to the protection of environmentally significant and sensitive areas, and will continue to work closely with DFO and others in this regard.

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. The Board is also discussing with the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador potential new approaches to environmental assessments through a Regional Assessment of offshore exploratory drilling in Eastern Newfoundland.

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.

Nomination submissions or comments regarding the Call for Nominations are acceptable in paper or electronic format. All submissions should be clearly labeled and submitted by the above-noted deadline. Email submissions can be sent to information@cnlopb.ca.

Further detailed information about scheduled land tenure 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:
Tim Murphy
Senior Advisor, Regulatory Reform and Public Engagement
t. 709-778-1418
c. 709-682-8971
tmurphy@cnlopb.ca

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

News Releases 2018