NSRL Final Sale Completed

Proceeds from total sales of Nova Scotia Resources Limited (NSRL) have now reached $408 million. Finance Minister Peter Christie closed a deal today, Oct. 23, to sell the province's NSRL shares to Endless Energy Corporation of Alberta, for $1.6 million cash.

"I am pleased to say that we received good value on the sale on NSRL and Nova Scotia taxpayers are no longer involved in the high-risk business of oil and gas exploration," said Mr. Christie.

The province continues to hold no-risk assets, including royalties, seismic data and a net profit interest in significant discovery licenses. The province's $17.5-million guarantee to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board for the planned abandonment of the Cohasset-Panuke oilfield is still in place.

Mr. Christie today also released a 2000 report from Scotia Capital, in which the financial advisors investigated options for selling or retaining the Crown corporation. The report said that in a best-case scenario, the government might hope to sell NSRL to an industry buyer for $401 million.

Mr. Christie said, "The end result shows that government made good decisions on behalf of Nova Scotia taxpayers."

The report also indicated that if NSRL had continued as an active Crown corporation, it would not have been able to repay its existing debt.

The gains on the sale of NSRL are used to reduce the province's net direct debt.