N.L. licensing area could hold 12 Bbbl of oil in place, Premier says

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador -- The area covering the 11 parcels currently on offer in the Flemish Pass has an in-place oil and gas resource potential of 12 Bbbl of oil and 113 Tcf of gas, according to the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The parcels are up for bid in the province’s first ever scheduled licensing round, which will close in November.

“The 12 Bbbl is in an area that represents just 2% of our entire offshore. Just imagine the potential of the other 98% of our offshore,” Paul Davis, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, said. “These discoveries did not happen by accident, chance, coincidence, sheer luck or a twist of fate. They happened by design. Today, we develop the seismic data and we sell it to the oil companies, we develop the oil fields as a partner with the industry, and we will negotiate deals with our partners that will maximize the returns to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”

Future licensing rounds will follow the same process, with detailed resource assessments being conducted over those areas, with results released prior to the closure of the licensing round.

“The study released today provides the province and industry with detailed knowledge that there is much more oil and gas to be developed in our offshore,” Ed Martin, president and CEO of Nalcor Energy, said. "If you consider Hibernia—our largest oil and gas discovery that started Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil and gas industry—at 12 Bbbl of oil potential we will have several more Hibernia-sized developments in an area covering a very small percentage of our offshore. We are seeing similar prospectivity in other areas—it is safe to say offshore Newfoundland and Labrador is poised for tremendous growth.”

The resource update was completed by Beicip-Franlab, an international petroleum consultancy firm based in Paris, France.