The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board is announcing the results of Call for Bids NL20-CFB01, which offered 17 parcels (totaling 4,170,509 hectares) in the Eastern Newfoundland Region, as previously approved by the federal and Newfoundland and Labrador governments.

A successful bid was received for Parcel 9 (covering 264,500 hectares) for $27,000,000 in work commitments from BP Canada Energy Group ULC (100%). No bids were received for the remaining 16 parcels, which may be re-posted in a future Call for Bids.

The sole criterion for selecting a winning bid is the total amount the bidder commits to spend on exploration of the parcel during Period I (the first period of a nine-year licence), with a minimum acceptable bid of $10,000,000 in work commitments for each parcel.

Planning, monitoring and assessment of offshore petroleum activities will ensure they occur in an environmentally responsible way. Required regional and/or site-specific mitigation measures will be undertaken before any petroleum-related operations can begin within a licence area, as conditions of C-NLOPB approvals and authorizations. 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.

A Regional Assessment of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploratory Drilling East of Newfoundland and Labrador was recently completed, which included extensive stakeholder engagements. Pursuant to the Regional Assessment, on June 4, 2020 the Government of Canada announced the coming into force of a Ministerial Regulation that improves the efficiency of the assessment process for oil and gas exploration drilling projects in the relevant part of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area, while at the same time protecting the environment.

Parcel 9 overlaps in part an area of fish harvesting activity. The C-NLOPB fully appreciates the importance of both the fisheries and petroleum sectors and will continue to engage with fisheries stakeholders and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) throughout the land tenure process. BP Canada Energy Group ULC, like any companies acquiring Exploration Licences, will be required to engage with fishing interests before any oil and gas activities are authorized.

A part of Parcel 9 also overlaps with a portion of the Northeast Newfoundland Slope Marine Refuge. The C-NLOPB is focused on the protection of environmentally significant and sensitive areas and will continue to work closely with DFO and others in this regard.

As this parcel is 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 the resulting licence from this Call for Bids in order to meet obligations arising pursuant to article 82 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Subject to the bidder satisfying the requirements specified and receiving government approvals, the Board will issue the new exploration licence in January 2021.

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