On April 7, 2016, the Canada-Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board announced two Calls for Bids for 2016 (the "2016 Bid Round"). Call for Bids NL16-CFB01 comprises thirteen parcels and a total of 2,949,252 hectares in the Eastern Newfoundland Region and Call for Bids NL16-CFB02 comprises three parcels and a total of 354,552 hectares in the Jeanne d'Arc Region.

The deadline for the 2016 Bid Round is November 9, 2016 and as in previous rounds, the sole bid selection criteria will be the size of the work commitment that is bid.

This follows the successful conclusion of last year's Call for Bids NL15-01EN (the "2015 Bid Round"). The 2015 Bid Round resulted in companies bidding over CDN$1 billion in work commitments in respect of 11 parcels totalling 2,581,655 hectares. This represented a strong result, particularly in the context of current low commodity prices.

Royalty Regime

Immediately prior to the closing of the 2015 Bid Round, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced significant changes to its offshore oil royalty regime (the "New Regime"). The New Regime was to apply on a go-forward basis from November 2015 to new production licenses issued, whether pursuant to exploration and significant discovery licences existing at that time or new exploration and significant discovery licences issued in the future. Existing production licenses remain subject to the previous regime, implemented in 2010. At the time of writing, however, no legislation or new regulations have been issued to implement the New Regime and at present it is not clear when the New Regime will come into force.

Notwithstanding uncertainty as to the date and specifics of implementation, the New Regime as announced in 2015 is to be based on an "R Factor", which is calculated as a ratio of revenue over allowed costs, and comprises two different royalty rates. "Basic Royalty" is payable on gross revenue starting at first production and ranges from 1-7.5%, depending on a project's R Factor. Upon a project achieving payout, the Basic Royalty is replaced with "Net Royalty", which is payable on net revenue and ranges from 10-50%. Basic Royalty and Net Royalty are calculated as follows:

(a) Basic Royalty: first oil to R<0.25 – 1%; 0.25≤R<1 – 2.5%; 1≤R<1.25 – 7.5%

(b) Net Royalty: R<1 – 0%; 1≤R<3 – sliding scale, 10-50%, were rate = [0% +(R-1)/(3-1)] x (50% – 0%), R>3 – 50%

The New Regime as proposed will represent a significant change in approach when implemented as it is intended to be a "generic" royalty, applicable to all new production whereas our experience to date in this region has been that royalties have been heavily negotiated on a project-by-project basis. Although the "generic" New Regime is intended to provide a consistent and clear royalty environmental for producers in this basin, we would not rule out negotiated exceptions in certain circumstances.

UNCLOS

As offshore bid rounds move beyond Canada's 200 mile exclusive economic zone, it remains to be seen how Canada will meet its commitments as set out in Article 82 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"). To address these obligations, current offshore bid documents contain a proviso indicating that, "additional terms and conditions may be applied through legislation, regulations, amendments to licences or otherwise" to any licenses granted thereunder.

UNCLOS sets out a 200-mile offshore exclusive economic zone for coastal states and Article 82 requires coastal states exploiting natural resources beyond their 200-mile zone to pay royalties on production to developing countries. Canada was one of the original coastal state signatories to UNCLOS, which it ratified on November 7, 2003. Certain parcels comprising the 2016 Bid Round are outside the 200-mile zone and therefore production from these parcels could be subject to an Article 82 royalty.

To date however, the International Seabed Authority (the "ISA"), which administers UNCLOS, has neither collected nor distributed any Article 82 royalties, and is still in the process of developing a regulatory framework in this regard. Further, no commercial production has yet occurred on Canada's continental shelf outside the 200-mile zone. As such, Canada has neither collected nor remitted Article 82 royalties nor have the federal or provincial governments implemented a royalty framework to address what Article 82 royalties would amount to in practice. However, Statoil ASA and Husky Energy Inc. have made discoveries in the Flemish Pass basin that are expected to yield significant production to which Article 82 would appear to pertain; this may require a reaction from Canada.

It remains to be seen how Canada will meet its obligations, particularly as the current royalty regimes in offshore Canada are incompatible with UNCLOS. Currently, royalties are collected by and on behalf of the provinces, not by the federal government (which is obliged to collect Article 82 royalties and make remittances to the ISA). There has been no indication from the federal and provincial governments to date regarding: (1) resolution of these apparent inconsistencies; (2) which level of government will be responsible for paying the Article 82 royalty; (3) and whether additional royalties will be imposed on producers in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in order to offset the cost incurred by Canada in respect of the Article 82 royalty.

About Dentons

Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.