Questerre Energy Corporation won the first bid round under Nova Scotia's Subsurface Energy Research and Development Investment Program, the company said. Questerre is now negotiating a Petroleum Exploration Agreement with the province covering onshore acreage in the Cumberland Basin, in northern Nova Scotia.
The basin holds potential for oil and natural gas across multiple formations, according to Questerre. Subject to final terms, the agreement would give Questerre exclusive exploration rights in the area and a path to develop any commercial discovery.
A second act after Quebec's Utica
Questerre President and CEO Michael Binnion tied the move to the company's history in Quebec, where a land position acquired more than 25 years ago led to what Questerre calls its giant Utica shale gas discovery. He said the entry into Nova Scotia gives the company a chance to apply that subsurface experience in a new prospective basin.
Binnion said winning the bid round lets Questerre start building relationships in the province, including with local communities and landowners, the Department of Energy, and research partners such as Dalhousie University. He said Questerre respects Premier Houston's effort to strengthen the province's energy security and intends to "earn our place" in that effort.
Binnion also pointed to a public-trust lesson from Quebec. He said the Utica project left the company with an appreciation that earning public confidence matters as much to developing a resource as understanding the geology.
Questerre describes itself as an energy technology and innovation company focused on responsibly developing oil and gas resources. It holds a natural gas discovery in the Quebec Utica shale, which the company calls one of the most important undeveloped natural gas resources in eastern Canada.
