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LATEST NEWS

December 04, 2009

BOARD ISSUES CALL FOR BIDS AND SEEKS WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

(Halifax, NS) The Canada - Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board has issued Call for Bids NS09-1. The Call for Bids consists of two shallow water parcels located within the Sable Subbasin.  Bids must be received by Thursday, June 24, 2010, 4:00pm Atlantic Time.

Highlights include:

  • Twenty-three Significant Discoveries made to date in the Sable Subbasin.
  • In Parcel #1, gas was discovered at Marmora in an early Cretaceous sandstone reservoir, with an estimated gas-in-place range of 113 to 187 Billion cubic feet (Bcf) or 3.2 to 5.3 billion cubic metres (E9M3).
  • A number of additional exploration prospects with considerable hydrocarbon potential have been identified on the parcels.
  • Each Parcel is adjacent to five of these Significant Discoveries, two producing gas fields.  The Sable Offshore Energy Project’s gas pipeline crosses the parcels
  • The water depths are less than 100 m.

The Board has made detailed geoscientific assessments and regulatory information associated with the parcels available on its website.

The successful bidder(s) will be awarded an Exploration Licence (EL) subject to federal and provincial Ministerial approval. ELs for these parcels include recently updated terms and conditions, for example:


  • After posting, upfront, a refundable Licence Deposit of $50,000 or one-percent (1%) of the Work Expenditure Bid, whichever is greater,  EL holders have three years to assess geology, raise financing, attract a farm-in partner or surrender licence before posting large financial requirements.
  • A lower minimum work expenditure bid, reduced from $1,000,000 to $500,000.
  • A 150% credit on allowable expenditures approved in the first three years.

Successful bidders will be required to perform a project specific environmental assessment before activity can begin. Both parcels are within areas previously assessed from an environmental perspective.

Written Submissions

The public is invited to submit written comments to the Board on the lands included in this Call for Bids. Written submissions must be received by Thursday, June 10, 2010, 4:00pm Atlantic Time. Such submissions will be considered by the Board before an Exploration Licence is issued.


Written submissions from the public should be sent to: Manager, Resources & Rights, Canada – Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, 6th Floor, TD Centre, 1791 Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3K9 or via email at callforbids@cnsopb.ns.ca.

More information is available on the Board’s website including:

Call for Bids NS09-1 CD-Rom Information Package
Call for Bids NS09-1 Licensing Terms and Conditions
CNSOPB Data Management Centre www.cnsopbdmc.ca


About the Board

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board is the independent joint agency of the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia responsible for the regulation of petroleum activities and resources offshore Nova Scotia.

For further information, please contact:

Debbie Mountenay
Manager, Administration & Industrial Benefits
Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board
(902) 496-0743, Email: dmountenay@cnsopb.ns.ca