HUDSON BAY — The province has sold oil shale leases within an area 12 to 30 kilometres southwest of Hudson Bay.
For many years, it has been known that Saskatchewan has oil shale resources, but they have never been developed. In the Dec. 1 Crown petroleum and natural gas public offering, six oil shale leases were sold for a total of $150,000, which the Ministry of Energy and Resources noted was the “first oil shale leases to be issued through a public offering.”
These oil shale leases are a relatively new concept launched in 2016. Instead of the three years to develop a lease, or five years to develop an exploratory permit, which is more typical in developing new wildcat areas, these oil shale leases have a 15-year term, according to the ministry. A total of 6,086.5 hectares were posted and sold as leases. The bonus bid came in at $24.64 per hectare.
The leases near Hudson Bay were acquired by Burgess Canadian Resources Inc. for $25,000 each or $150,000 in total. The new area is adjacent to, but not the same land that had been permitted by Saturn Oil and Gas. Saturn had drilled a few wells in the area several years ago, but nothing came of them, and those permits have since expired.
