The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board has issued Call for Bids NS09-1. The Call for Bids consists of two shallow water parcels located within the Sable Subbasin. Bids must be received by Thursday, June 24, 2010, 4:00pm Atlantic Time.

Highlights include: Twenty-three Significant Discoveries made to date in the Sable Subbasin. In Parcel #1, gas was discovered at Marmora in an early Cretaceous sandstone reservoir, with an estimated gas-in-place range of 113 to 187 Billion cubic feet (Bcf) or 3.2 to 5.3 billion cubic metres (E9M3).

A number of additional exploration prospects with considerable hydrocarbon potential have been identified on the parcels.

Each Parcel is adjacent to five of these Significant Discoveries, two producing gas fields. The Sable Offshore Energy Project's gas pipeline crosses the parcels.

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:

After posting, upfront, a refundable License Deposit of $50,000 or one-percent (1%) of the Work Expenditure Bid, whichever is greater, EL holders have three years to assess geology, raise financing, attract a farm-in partner or surrender licence before posting large financial requirements.

Tags: Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board