On 14 June 2020, the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) announced details on the Call for Bids NL20-CFB01 which contains 17 parcels located in the deepwater area of the Orphan Basin. The 17 parcels included in the call consist of a combined 41,705 sq km. The parcels are located from the shelf-slope break to deep water in water depths ranging from ~500 m in the west to ~3,000 m in the east. The parcels are sparsely populated with vintage 2D seismic but a large number of 3D seismic has been acquired in the area between existing exploration licenses EL 1148 and EL 1142. The deadline for the call for bids is at 12:00 p.m. Newfoundland Standard time, on 4 November 2020. Sealed bids are to be submitted prior to the closing date to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, Suite 100, TD Place, 140 Water Street, St. John's, NL A1C 6H6. Attention: The Chair.  The following is a list of tracts included in the NL20-CFB01:          Call for Bids   NL20-CFB01         Â          Â          Â              Tract         Size sq km         Issuance Fee CAD         2D          3D             NL20-CFB01-01         2162.98         $2,500.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-02         2576.46         $3,250.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-03         1748.55         $2,750.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-04         2115.18         $3,000.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-05         2635.71         $3,750.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-06         2565.43         $3,500.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-07         2451.4         $4,000.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-08         2660.79         $3,750.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-09         2645         $4,000.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-10         2652.23         $3,500.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-11         2586.22         $4,250.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-12         2717.88         $3,500.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-13         2716.49         $4,000.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-14         2569.28         $3,000.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-15         2020.87         $2,250.00         yes         yes             NL20-CFB01-16         2727.92         $3,500.00         yes         Â              NL20-CFB01-17         2152.7         $2,500.00         yes         yes             Total         41705.09         Â          Â          Â              Source: IHS Markit         Â          Â          Â          Â©   2020 IHS Markit        Three wells have been previously drilled in the area outlined in the Call area. The Chevron Great Barasway F-66 (TD 6,751 m) drilled in 2007, the ExxonMobil Lona O-55 (TD 5,580 m) drilled in 2010, and the Statoil (now Equinor Canada) Cupids A-33 (TD 2,900 m) drilled in 2015. All three wells recovered water from sampling test conducted in the Late Jurassic age formations. According to the C-NLOPB good sandstone reservoirs were encountered in the existing wells, but no shows or source rock were intersected. Exploration has focused on Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoirs, located in structural traps formed by rifting events and salt movement, stratigraphic traps are also present. Current understanding indicates that there is increased hydrocarbon potential in the deeper part of this complex basin.   Any sector, parcel or license beyond 200 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is not represented by the Board to reflect the full extent of Canada's continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. Canada has filed a submission regarding the limits of the Outer Continental Shelf in the Atlantic Ocean with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, the review of which is pending. Any call for bids based on a sector or parcel identified in this map and any licenses issued in those areas will be subject to approval as a Fundamental Decision under applicable legislation. The boundaries of sectors, parcels or licenses in areas beyond 200 nautical miles may be revised to reflect the limits of the Outer Continental Shelf established by Canada. All interest holders of production licenses containing areas beyond 200 nautical miles may be required, through legislation, regulation, license terms and conditions, or otherwise, to make payments or contributions for Canada to satisfy obligations under Article 82 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  The following is included in the Call for Bids announcement. "A number of the parcels in this 2020 Call for Bids overlap in part with areas of fish harvesting activity. The C-NLOPB fully appreciates the importance of both the fisheries and petroleum sectors and will continue to engage with fisheries stakeholders and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) throughout the land tenure process.Â Any companies acquiring Exploration Licences pursuant to this Call for Bids will be required to engage with fishing interests before any oil and gas activities are authorized. Some of the parcels in this 2020 Call for Bids also overlap the Northeast Newfoundland Slope Marine Refuge. TheÂ C-NLOPB is focused on the protection of environmentally significant and sensitive areas and will also continue to work closely withÂ DFOÂ and others in this regard."  Sole criterion for selecting the winning bids on all parcels in the call was the total amount of money committed to spending on exploration of the parcel during the initial 6-year term (Period 1). The winning bidder is required to post a Security Deposit in the amount of 25% of the total bid placed on the block within 15 days of the notification of a successful bid. The minimum bid for all parcels is CAD 10,000,000.00. Period 1 may also be extended to seven years by posting a drilling deposit of CAD 5-million for the first year, CAD 10-million for the second year and CAD 15-million for the third year.   In order to extend the contract into Period 2, consisting of three additional years, a well must be drilled in the contract prior to the end of Period 1. Rentals do not apply to the contract until such time as the contract enters into Period 2 with the drilling of a validation well. Upon entering Period 2, a rental fee of CAD 5.00 per hectare is required for the first year followed by CAD 10.00 per hectare for year two and CAD 15.00 per hectare per year for years three and four. Rentals will be refunded dollar for dollar for each qualifying dollar spent on exploration in the contract for that year. The winning bidder is also required to pay a fee (yet to be determined) per hectare towards the Environmental Studies Research Fund (ESRF) which is applied to the two previous calendar years and for each year of the term of the exploration license thereafter.  Geology (taken from the Basin Monitor product published by IHS Markit)   The Orphan Basin lies offshore Canada on the eastern margin of North America, in water depths ranging from 200 m in the west to over 3,000 m in the east. The basin covers an area of some 157,159 sq km. The geologic evolution of the Orphan Basin is similar to the adjacent Grand Banks and Flemish Pass Basin, but also to the Porcupine Trough on the Western European margin. Prior to the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean, the Orphan Basin was located immediately to the west of the Porcupine Trough. The basins including the Orphan Basin originated as a result of successive extensional episodes related to the break-up of a) Africa and North America in the Late Triassic - Early Jurassic, b) Iberia and the Grand Banks in the Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous, and c) Europe and northern North America in the Middle Cretaceous.   No source rocks have yet been identified in the Orphan Basin. Potential source rocks include Lower Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous shales, Cretaceous shales equivalent to the Grand Banks Basin's Markland Formation, Upper Jurassic shales of the Egret Member as well as possible Carboniferous shales. Good reservoir quality sandstones were encountered within the Lower and Upper Cretaceous section in wells. Potential reservoirs may be found in the Lower Tertiary section and, if at all present, in the Upper Jurassic syn-rift succession. The Upper Cretaceous to Tertiary sedimentary cover should provide efficient seal to underlying reservoirs.   The structures in the Orphan Basin are related to a succession of rifting and sag episodes. According to Tankard & Welsink (1989), dip-slip process dominated the structural development of the basin and the direction of extensional transport was towards the northeast. The main structural episode took place in Middle Cretaceous times, when renewed rifting led to the opening of the Labrador Sea and to the separation of Orphan Knoll-Flemish Cap from northwest Europe.   The Orphan Basin has a promising potential. The area suffers harsh environmental conditions, but technological advances such as floating production storage and offloading vessels, have reduced most of the dangers. The biggest risk to exploration in the Orphan Basin is whether active petroleum systems exist. In the adjacent Grand Banks Basin, the most prolific reservoirs belong to the Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous syn-rift sequence, i.e. the thick Jeanne d'Arc and Hibernia formations, with some 1,260 MMbo of recoverable reserves (December 2004).
C-NLOPB has issued a Call for Bids for Exploration Licences in the Eastern Newfoundland Region. Call for Bids NL20-CFB01 (Exploration Licences, Eastern Newfoundland Region) consists of 17 parcels and a total of 4,170,509 hectares.