"The results of this year’s Call for Bids are very encouraging," said Mr. Parsons. "Our government, and officials with the Department of Mines and Energy, spent the past several months promoting the potential of the areas that were up for bids. It is obvious that our activities proved to be successful.

"I congratulate the successful companies involved in the bidding process, and I encourage government to continue our efforts in stringently promoting our offshore potential. I also look forward to the new promotional ideas that the Conservative government has promised to undertake. I am hopeful that once government reveals these new strategies and activities, future bidding processes will result in a similar level of interest."