For the second time in less than four months, Minister of Environment, Energy, and Forestry Jamie Ballem has received a request to issue a Call For Bids for oil and natural gas exploration rights in the province.
As a result, Minister Ballem has issued a Call For Bids for exploration rights on three parcels of land in eastern Kings County, totalling approximately 19,000 hectares, and a property in the central area of the province encompassing 55,536 hectares.
“I’m pleased to say there’s been a considerable surge in interest in natural gas exploration in Prince Edward Island this year,” said Minister Ballem. “With permits issued this summer, the total lands under exploration permits is more than 400,000 hectares or one million acres. Many people probably don’t realize it, but that means there’s now hundreds of thousands of dollars of exploration work carried out in PEI each year. This past year alone, the value of work reached over $3 million.”
Four exploration permits were issued this summer for a total of more than 230,000 hectares between Summerside and Charlottetown. Under the province’s Oil and Natural Gas Act, the process of issuing an oil and natural gas permit starts with the Minister receiving a written request that lands be submitted in a Call for Bids, as has happened in this case. Bid packages are made available to prospective bidders which describe the area up for bid, criteria for selection, and the required forms to express the value and substance of the work plan. A performance bond that represents one quarter of the value of the work that is to be carried out during the six-year term must be provided by the successful bidder to secure an oil and gas exploration permit.
The issuance of an oil and gas permit does not carry surface property rights to the successful bidder. Access to or over private property requires the prior permission of the landowner.
Companies have until 2 p.m. (ADT), November 26, 2004, to submit bids on the four parcels of land currently up for bid. Further information and bid documents are available from the Energy and Mineral Section of the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry, at 894-0288.