Call for Onshore Oil and Gas Exploration

The Nova Scotia Petroleum Directorate is offering oil and gas companies a second opportunity to bid on exploration rights to two large blocks of mainland Nova Scotia.

The directorate has issued a call for proposals from industry for exploration rights on more than 400,000 hectares in Hants and Cumberland counties.

The lands were originally offered as part of a larger call for proposals last summer. While industry interest was high at that time, exploration rights were not awarded for these two blocks because of incomplete applications.

The two blocks total 414,020 hectares. One block is in central Nova Scotia along the Minas Basin south to Windsor. The other is in northern Nova Scotia south of Amherst. Provincially protected areas are excluded from exploration.

The Petroleum Directorate will accept separate proposals for exploration of each block for a 60-day period ending March 1, 1999. Results will be announced within 90 days of the closing. If exploration agreements are issued, they will be for terms of three years each.

The history of petroleum exploration in Nova Scotia extends back to 1869 when the first recorded exploratory well was drilled. Since then, companies have drilled 103 wells. A number of oil and gas deposits have been discovered, although not yet in quantities considered necessary for commercial production.

NOTE TO EDITORS: A map is available showing the properties open for exploration bids; for a faxed copy, please contact Communications Nova Scotia at 902-424-4492 or e-mail [email protected] .