HALIFAX -- A Norway-based oil and gas company has been awarded $82 million in exploration licences in Nova Scotia's offshore.
The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board has awarded Statoil Canada Ltd. two deepwater parcels, one for about $76 million and the other for roughly $5.8 million.
The industry regulator says there were no bids on the other seven parcels that were available.
It says the federal minister of natural resources and the provincial minister of energy still need to sign off on the licences.
If those approvals are granted, the board says it will issue two exploration licences on Jan. 15.
In a news release Thursday, Nova Scotia Energy Minister Michel Samson said the province is thrilled about the awarded licences, which he says will generate economic activity for the province.
