2022 Eastern and South Eastern Newfoundland Regions
On May 11, 2022, the C-NLOPB announced its Calls for Bids in the Eastern Newfoundland (NL22-CFB01) and South Eastern Newfoundland (NL22-CFB02) regions. The Calls for Bids closed on November 2, 2022. Further detailed information pertaining to the Calls for Bids can be found here.
OilCo, the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology, and Beicip-Franlab released two Independent Oil and Gas Resource Assessments on September 27, 2022. Results of these resource assessments show a potential of 50.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (P50 unrisked volumes) in the Eastern and the South Eastern Newfoundland regions.
Orphan Basin Resource Assessment (Eastern Region)
Located ~200 km north-northeast of St. John’s, the sector lies in the western portion of the Eastern Newfoundland region and the four new parcels cover an area of ~10,360 km2. Water depths range from 200 m to 2,000 m.
The 2022 Resource Assessment within the Orphan basin area demonstrates a potential for an active petroleum system with four main plays sourced by various source rocks (Upper Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Cenozoic). Basin geometry and sedimentary supply through geological time were favorable for sand reservoir distribution during the Early and Late Cretaceous and Oligocene ages – developing sand-rich turbidite systems of sand sheets, lobes, and channels.
Sedimentary and environmental conditions were favorable for marine and terrestrial organic matter preservation in marine settings during the Late Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Paleogene times.
Several geological scenarios have been tested, all calibrated on well data and seismic features. Numerous AVO anomalies suggest there is a potential working petroleum system within the four new parcels of the NL22-CFB01 Region.
View the 2022 Resource Assessment for the Orphan basin.
Southern Salar Basin Resource Assessment (South Eastern Region)
Located ~500 km southeast of St. John’s, the sector lies in the eastern portion of the South Eastern Newfoundland jurisdiction and covers an area of approximately 26,500 km2. Water depths range from 300 m to 3,800 m.
Ten parcels in the southern Salar basin were the focus of the 2022 Resource Assessment for this region.
The southern Salar basin demonstrates a potential petroleum system with reservoirs in at least four stratigraphic layers. The presence and maturation of source rocks are successfully modeled in five main layers. The timing of burial with respect to traps formation enables hydrocarbons to be trapped and sealed regionally through major stratigraphic traps in Oligocene, and potential traps in Cretaceous. Several geological scenarios have been tested, all driven by and tested against available data, such as AVO anomalies and seismic features. They provide evidence for an efficient petroleum system in the southern Salar basin.
View the 2022 Resource Assessment for the southern Salar basin.
