Call for Bids

A call for bids on exploration rights to specific blocks is required by legislation before Crown acreage may be released for oil and gas exploration. The outcome of a successful call for bids is the issuance of exploration licences to the successful bidders on each block. Legislation requires that a call for bids remains open for a minimum of 120 days. Each call states the requirements to be met for acceptance of a bid, the terms and conditions to be contained in the licence, a sample Bid Submission Form and attachments related to benefits requirements and relevant land claim provisions. Upon closing of the call for bids, all bids received are assessed against the single bidding criterion required by legislation. This is typically the value of the work proposal but may be cash, or some other criterion as stated in the Call. The highest bid wins. In the case of a work proposal bid, an Exploration Licence may be awarded once the winning bidder has posted a work deposit equivalent to 25 percent of the bid amount submitted and provided the issuance fee of $250 per grid.