Onshore Oil and Natural Gas - History

August 2009 - Nova Scotia Department of Energy announces the results of the Onshore Call for Bids 08-2 (Lynn Agreement). The successful bidder is Eastrock Resources Limited; who already hold an active exploration agreement in Cumberland County.

Spring/Summer 2009 - Completion of three Elmworth wells in the Windsor Basin.

March 2009 - Call NS08-2 Closes.

December 2008 - One seismic program and four wells were drilled this year. Approval was granted for Elmworth Energy Development Plan of Shale Gas. The Department issues a new industry nominated Call for Exploration Proposals for the Lynn Agreement. This block is 186,920 hectares and is within the Cumberland and Colchester Counties. The Call closes March 3, 2009 at 4:00pm Atlantic Time.

June 2008 - Elmworth Energy Corporation submitted a development plan as part of their application in accordance with requirements for a production agreement.

May 2008 – Forent Energy won the 08-1 Call and has received an exploration licence to explore oil and gas on land in Antigonish, Guysborough and Pictou counties.

March 2008 – Call 08-1 closes.

January 2008 – The Nova Scotia Department of Energy releases Call for Exploration Proposals for Beech Hill Block. The block is 188,937 hectares within the Pictou, Antigonish and Guysborough Counties.

Fall 2007 - New exploration focus on Shale Gas.

October 2007 - Stealth Ventures Ltd. receives approval, with conditions, to develop coal-bed methane – also known as natural gas from coal — in the Springhill area of Cumberland County. It is the province's first production agreement for coalbed methane.

2005 - EOG drilled three wells on the Alton Block. The first 3-D seismic survey of onshore Nova Scotia was also completed on this block.

2001 High level of exploration activity onshore with 550km of seismic data aquired with Northstar drilling 5 wells on their Windsor exploration agreement.

August 2000 Call for Coal Gas Exploration Proposals in the Stellarton area closes.

Summer 2000 Onshore seismic programs shot by Hunt Oil (30km) and Northstar Energy Corp. (187km). This was the first seismic data acquired since 1983.

January 2000 Fifteen parcels of land are held by 4 exploration companies in the onshore region of Nova Scotia.

Nov. 1999 Industry invest $2 million for exploration agreements for two onshore land parcels on mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.

1999 Hunt Oil Company drills an exploratory well south of Truro.

1994 Begins a round of drilling and evaluating coalbed methane in the onshore.

1978-81 Chevron Standard discovers oil in the Malagawatch area, Inverness County, Cape Breton, while conducting a base metals program lead to the drilling of 13 wells.

1972-73 Anschutz Canada Ltd. drills the deepest petroleum well in the onshore region at Wallace Station, Cumberland County taking some 8 months to reach a depth of 4536m (14,883').

1956 The Petroleum and Natural Gas Act was passed to guide exploration activity in the onshore.

1925-30 This period saw the drilling of some 20 wells by Gulf Oil and Imperial Oil; the busiest 5-year period of drilling in the onshore area.

1869 Record of the first well drilled onshore Nova Scotia by Lake Ainslie Oil and Salt Company on the western side of Lake Ainslie. It flowed small amounts of oil and natural gas.