Offshore staff

HALIFAX, Canada -- The Canada - Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board has issued call for bids NS08-2. The call consists of two board-nominated deepwater parcels located approximately 160 km (99 mi) southwest of Sable Island. Bids must be received by Friday, June 26, 2009, at 4:00pm Atlantic Time.

Highlights of the two deepwater parcels include:

• A number of promising structures are present in an area down-slope from a major Early Cretaceous river system, where seismic stratigraphic studies suggest deepwater sands were deposited

• Gas bearing sands encountered in the nearby Newburn H-23 deepwater well (and several other deepwater wells on the Scotian slope) demonstrate a working hydrocarbon system is present in deepwater

• The Big Tancook structure in Parcel 1 has a closure area up to 40 sq km (15 sq mi), and has an estimated 1.3 tcf to 4.1 tcf of in-place gas in this one structure alone

• The Big Thrum structure in Parcel 2 has a closure area up to 55 sq km (21 sq mi), and has an estimated 2.0 tcf to 5.9 tcf of in-place gas in this one structure alone.

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 license (EL) subject to federal and provincial ministerial approval. ELs for these parcels include recently updated terms and conditions, for example:

• By posting $50,000 upfront EL holders have three years to assess the geology, raise financing, attract a farm-in partner or surrender the license before posting large financial requirements

• The minimum work expenditure bid has been reduced from $1,000,000 to $500,000.

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 Friday, June 12, 2009, 4:00pm Atlantic Time. Such submissions will be considered by the board before an exploration license 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 e-mail at callforbids@cnsopb.ns.ca.

More information is available on the board's website including:
Call for Bids NS08-2 CD-Rom Information Package
Call for Bids NS08-2 Licensing Terms and Conditions
Data from the CNSOPB Data Management Centre
www.cnsopbdmc.ca

11/21/2008