New bid round unveiled off Newfoundland

摘要

AUTHORITIES in Newfoundland, Canada have unveiled a fresh offshore licensing round that will open up a tract of undrilled acreage some 250 kilometres northwest of the proven Jeanne d'Arc basin. The announcement came just days after Upstream reported that Equinor has a potential new oil discovery on its hands in the Flemish Pass basin, some 250 kilometres south-east of the area where acreage will be offered. Having asked oil companies to nominate broad areas of interest in the offshore Eastern Newfoundland region, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB) has identified the zone that will be offered in early 2022 in a call for bids. The general location of the sec- tor of interest has been identified on a map (it is called NL-05-EN) and appears to cover the western Orphan basin. However, blocks have yet to be demarcated because Covid-19 restrictions have meant the board's staff do not have access to specialised software tools. Once the blocks, or parcels, have been defined, the board will issue a call for nominations in late summer 2021, and then decide on the specific acreage to be made available. The closing date for the 2022 call for bids will be November that year, with successful bidders awarded exploration licences in early 2023. One informed exploration source said "the majority of this acreage is between BP's lands and BHP lands" in the Orphan basin. BHP operates Exploration Licences (ELs) 1157 and 1158 in the central part of the basin, while BP's four tracts - ELs 1145, 1146, 1148 and 1149 - lie in the north. The CNLOPB said the proposed sector location overlaps areas of fish-harvesting activity and that it will continue to engage with fisheries stakeholders and Fisheries and Oceans Canada throughout the land tenure process.