Call for Bids is Largest for Offshore Nova Scotia

The province is calling the release of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board's latest call for bids today, April 30, good news for Nova Scotia's offshore industry.

The call for bids is the largest in Nova Scotia's history.

Premier Darrell Dexter said this call for bids shows the strong growth potential of the province's offshore industry. It follows Shell Canada's $970 million exploration bid earlier this year -- the largest in Eastern Canada.

"The province's investment in industry-standard geoscience has confirmed Nova Scotia's offshore petroleum potential and is attracting a lot of interest around the world," said Premier Dexter. "With Shell Canada announcing its return to offshore Nova Scotia in January, I'm confident we are on the radar of the world's oil and gas companies."

Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board issued the call for exploration rights for 11 offshore parcels identified as having potential for oil and gas. The call area covers 3.1 million hectares and includes six parcels nominated by industry.

The parcels are largely in deep water and skirting into the shelf area, and include areas near the Sable and Deep Panuke gas projects and next to Shell's recently acquired offshore parcels.

The province invested $15-million over the last three years to provide the industry with a clearer picture of the geology of offshore Nova Scotia. The analysis shows a potential of 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and eight billion barrels of oil.

"We will continue to invest in important geoscience information and knock on the doors of the world's top oil and gas companies," said Premier Dexter. "The momentum building around our offshore continues to grow and we are going to work hard to keep it that way."

Companies will have to demonstrate experience drilling in deep water to be considered. Bids are open until Nov. 7. More information on the call for bids can be found at www.cnsopb.ns.ca .