Canada’s oil and gas rich province of Newfoundland & Labrador has launched a massive offshore licensing round, with almost 50 blocks up for grabs across a huge variety of plays, including the oil-prone Flemish Pass basin.

However, the federal and provincial governments decided not to push ahead with an acreage offering for the Jeanne d’Arc basin, which hosts four producing oilfields, “after an assessment of nominations and land tenure considerations”.

The Atlantic Ocean province holds regular oil and gas acreage auctions, but this latest offering appears to be the biggest for many a year.