Chasing a big catch off Nova Scotia

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Nova Scotia Energy Minister Cecil Clarke is trying to land some big fish to explore his province’s floundering offshore.

So he’s out to woo the Bass brothers of Texas and Australia’s BHP Billiton.

He told reporters at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston that the four billionaire brothers who run Bass Enterprises Production Co., better known as BEPCo., will drill an exploratory well 120 miles south of Halifax in 2004.

Clarke also said BHP Billiton, the gas, mineral and resource conglomerate, wants to “make sure Nova Scotia is on its horizon.” He said BEPCo. has just concluded underwater mapping of the ocean floor, having acquired an exploration license covering both shallow and deep water in January 2002 with a successful bid of $6.7 million.

BEPCo. must now drill a well by January 2006 to extend that license by another four years. The four Bass brothers run a privately owned company that is also involved in the hotel business. A spokesman for the Nova Scotia Department of Energy said the brothers have a reputation for doing things on a grand scale when they go into an area.

BHP Billiton was keeping tight-lipped about its plans and the details of a meeting with Clarke in Houston.But Clarke remains confident that 11 to 16 exploratory wells will be drilled in the offshore before the end of 2006, despite a dismal drilling record that has produced more setbacks than hope in recent years.