The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has issued a Call for Bids for Exploration Licences in the Eastern Newfoundland Region.
Call for Bids No. NL24-CFB01 (Exploration Licences, Eastern Newfoundland Region) consists of 41 parcels and a total of 10,287,196 hectares, 32 of which have been made available under previous Calls for Bids or relinquishment of lands that have subsequently reverted back to Crown reserve. The remaining nine parcels are new and were designed over Sector NL06-EN, with consideration given to stakeholder input from a previous call for nominations.
Interested parties will have until 12:00 p.m. Newfoundland time on November 6, 2024 to submit sealed bids for the parcels offered in this Call for Bids. Notification of any changes to the Call for Bids will be posted on the C-NLOPB’s website.
The issuance of the Call for Bids has received ratification by the federal and Newfoundland and Labrador governments, which will also be required in the awarding of any Exploration Licences to successful bidders in early 2025.
The sole criterion for selecting a winning bid will be the total amount of money the bidder commits to spend on exploration of the parcel during Period I (the first six years of a nine-year licence). The minimum bid for the parcels offered is $10,000,000 in work commitments.
Offshore safety and environmental protection are paramount in all Board decisions. The C-NLOPB supports action by the federal and provincial governments to address climate change and protect notable marine areas, and will continue to work closely with governments and others in this regard. Some of the parcels in this 2024 Call for Bids overlap the Northeast Newfoundland Slope Marine Refuge. The C-NLOPB will continue to work closely with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and others in the protection of environmentally significant areas. Emissions-related considerations will be assessed as part of the regulatory review process when companies propose specific plans.
Planning, monitoring and assessment of offshore petroleum activities will ensure they occur in an environmentally responsible way. The timing, spatial extent, and nature of proposed oil and gas activities, in addition to mitigations already prescribed by legislation or regulation, will determine the level of restriction or mitigation that may be required. Regional and/or site-specific mitigation measures to be undertaken before and during petroleum-related operations within a licence area will be conditions of C-NLOPB approvals and authorizations.
The Eastern Newfoundland Region includes a number of important areas for fish harvesters who fish for crab and other species. The C-NLOPB fully appreciates the importance of both the fisheries and energy sectors and will continue to engage with fisheries stakeholders, DFO, other federal and provincial agencies and other affected stakeholders throughout the land tenure process. Any companies acquiring Exploration Licences pursuant to this Call for Bids will be required to engage with fishing interests before any oil and gas activities are authorized.
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.
Based on an assessment of nominations and land tenure considerations, the C-NLOPB has decided not to proceed with a Call for Bids in the Jeanne d’Arc Region in 2024. The decision to proceed with future Call for Bids in the Jeanne d’Arc Region will be assessed on an annual basis per the C-NLOPB’s Scheduled Land Tenure System.
Further detailed information about this Call for Bids is available here.
Any parties interested in receiving email notifications on Scheduled Land Tenure related announcements can contact Shannon Bulger at sbulger@cnlopb.ca.