Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) said Friday it will spend nearly C$1 billion on deepwater oil exploration off the coast of Nova Scotia .

Shell bid C$970 million (US$962 million) for four offshore parcels more than 125 miles from Nova Scotia's coast, representing the amount it intends to spend exploring for oil in the area over six years.

The joint Canada-Nova Scotia regulator that awarded Shell the parcels said it's the largest amount ever spent on offshore drilling rights on
Canada 's east coast.

"Shell views this as an important entry into an attractive new deepwater basin offshore
Nova Scotia ," Shell Canada spokesman Larry Lalonde said.