Nfld. buoyed by new data on oil basin

ST. JOHN’S — The Newfoundland and Labrador government has delivered some encouraging news about its potential offshore oil and gas resources, saying new seismic data is pointing to huge reserves in West Orphan Basin.

Premier Dwight Ball said an independent assessment of nine parcels in the basin found they could contain 25.5 billion barrels of oil and 20.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. The CanadaNewfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, which regulates the province’s offshore industry, has already issued a call for bids that closes in November 2016.

Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady said the data revealed 350 leads and prospects — more than 50 of which are in the West Orphan Basin.

Ball said the new estimates should encourage more oil and gas exploration, despite the dramatic downturn in the industry. The assessment was conducted by Beicip-Franlab, based in Paris.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government’s annual sale of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico attracted hardly any interest on Wednesday, reflecting a dismal outlook for offshore drilling.

Only three oil companies bid, on just 24 of the 4,400 tracts offered for drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast. None competed against each other.

Among them, BP Exploration, BHP Billiton Petroleum and Exxon Mobil offered a total of $18 million US. For perspective, that’s about 32 millionths of the combined market capital of the bidders’ parent companies, which totals more than half a trillion dollars.