Lands Management
We are responsible for issuing and managing offshore licences and other lands rights on behalf of both governments. Obtaining rights to the offshore lands is an essential first step in developing and exploring the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area for renewable energy and petroleum resources.
Petroleum-Related Licensing
We can issue three types of petroleum-related licences: exploration, significant discovery and production through our fundamental decision process. This means our Board members may make the decision to issue licences, but we are required to notify the federal Minister of Natural Resources and the provincial Minister of Energy of our decision. The Ministers have an opportunity to accept our fundamental decision, delay the decision, or jointly veto the decision. You can learn more about these licences in our Petroleum-Related Licensing section.
Renewable Energy Licensing
We administer the renewable energy land tenure process and make recommendations to the Minister of Natural Resources and the provincial Minister of Energy to make a Call for Bids and to issue a submerged land licence. The process for issuing a submerged land licence is being established. Once more information is known, this section will be updated. You can learn more about submerged land licences and the call for bids process in our Renewable Energy Lands Management section.
Compliance and Monitoring
Once a licence is issued, our job is just beginning. The terms and conditions of a licence are based on legislative requirements and our established policies, and include items such as effective dates, area of the licence, any deposits, and requirements for reports and submission of geoscience data. We need to continually make sure that licence owners are in compliance with the terms and conditions of their licence, including meeting the required timeframe for reports and deposits, which we review.
Licence Registry
For those that want to know more, we manage a public registry for our licences. Our public registry contains information such as who owns a licence, the licence location, and any relevant dates. It also includes information on licences that have been issued, amended, consolidated, surrendered, transferred or cancelled. We have a designated Registrar, who’s job is to review and register these documents. Information in our public registry is available to the public and can be found here.