NS Premier John Hamm said the bids show again the depth of industry’s interest in Nova Scotia. “Two bids broke all previous records and, in total, the nine bids represent a 50% increase in interest in just one round,” he said. “It represents a strong vote of confidence in Nova Scotia and our decision to focus on getting more exploration under way to determine our potential.”

Bids on two blocks southeast of Sable Island were the largest ever for the eastern Canadian offshore. Marathon was high bidder on Parcel 5 and, with its partners, high bidder on Parcel 6. Together the bids commit a total of C$370 million in exploration work on the two blocks. Marathon is also the operator on an adjacent block, where it expects to start deepwater drilling before the end of the year. The highest previous Nova Scotia record was a C$97 million work bid by BP Canada and Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Gordon Balser, a minister for the Petroleum Directorate, said the board has announced the winning bids, but no licenses will be awarded until the required review by the provincial and federal governments.

“The process to date has allowed for public input on a number of fisheries and environmental issues, particularly with reference to Parcel 1, which is near Browns and George’s banks,” said Balser. “I want to be assured that these issues can be properly addressed during the exploration approval process before the licenses are awarded.”

The parcel numbers, high bidders and the amount bid were the following:

Parcel 1: Canadian Superior, C$41.25 million; Parcel 2: BEPCo. Canada Co., C$6.74 million; Parcel 3: PanCanadian/Shell, C$10.5 million; Parcel 4: Canadian Superior, C$15.5 million; Parcel 5: Marathon, C$176.69 million Parcel 6: Marathon/Murphy Oil/Norsk Hydro, C$193.6 million; Parcel 7: Richland Minerals, C$4.28 million; Parcel 8: Richland Minerals, C$2.7 million; and Parcel 9: PanCanadian/PetroCanada, C$75.86 million.

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