Statoil and its partners were the successful bidders for six exploration licenses in the Flemish Pass Basin, offshore Newfoundland, and two licenses offshore Nova Scotia, Statoil said in a news release.

The licenses offshore Newfoundland, which total 14,670 sq km (5,664 sq miles), are located near the Statoil-operated Bay du Nord discovery. Statoil will operate five licenses, and participate in one license as a partner, the release said. The offshore Newfoundland licenses awarded are:

  • NL15-01-02: Chevron 35% (operator); Statoil 35%; BG 30%;
  • NL15-01-05: Statoil: 40%; Exxon Mobil 35%; BG 25%;
  • NL15-01-06 Statoil 34%; Exxon Mobil 33%; BP 33%;
  • NL15-01-07: Statoil 34%; Exxon Mobil 33%; BP 33%;
  • NL15-01-08: Statoil 50%; BP 50% and
  • NL15-01-09: Statoil 100%.

The licenses offshore Nova Scotia (NS15-1 Parcels 1 and 2) cover 6,500 sq km (2,510 sq miles) and are located about 250 km (155 miles) from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“The successful bids in these frontier areas offshore Canada are in line with Statoil’s strategy of deepening our position in prolific basins and securing access at scale, while also adding important optionality to our exploration portfolio,” Tim Dodson, executive vice president for Exploration in Statoil, said in the release.