The August public offering of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights was the largest yet for the 2016-17 fiscal yer, accounting for 60 per cent of the total to date.
The sale raised a total of $10 million in revenue for the province, bringing the year’s total to date to $17 million with three sales pending.
The government’s Economy Ministry noted that this province continues to post the highest per-hectare prices among western Canadian public offerings in 2016, averaging $405 per hectare which is significantly more than the average prices per hectare for drilling rights in Alberta or British Columbia, which is a reflection of the industry’s sustained interest and activity in Saskatchewan’s oil patch.
“Our positive investment climate and stable royalty regime, couple with our significant resources, is a recognized asset for the industry in Saskatchewan,” said Economy Minister Bill Boyd. “We have, and will continue to work with our stakeholders, to ensure Saskatchewan remains one of the most attractive jurisdictions to do business.”
Once again, the Estevan-Weyburn area of the province received the majority of interest in the public offering with $8.8 of the $10 million being spent in acquiring the rights to drill on land in and around these two centres. In fact, two exploration licenses for properties located west of Estevan, received bonus bids totaling $5.8 million for 5,731 hectares of new territory. Metropolitan Resources Inc., was the successful bidder of these parcels that are prospective for multiple targets including the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Group in the Torquay Formation. The highest offer for a parcel of land was $4.2 million for a 2,392 hectare lease west of Estevan, posted by Metropolitan.
Among the initiatives undertaken by the province to increase interest in drilling and producing in Saskatchewan, was the introduction of the Integrated Resource Information System (IRIS), an online business system that supports the development and regulation of Saskatchewan’s energy and resources industry, and a petroleum geoscience program that provides technical information to attract and support oil and gas exploration and development.
In a recent Fraser Institute annual Global Petroleum Survey of petroleum executives, Saskatchewan was ranked first in Canada and among the world’s top 10 in the category of attractive jurisdictions for investment in petroleum exploration and development.
The next public offering of petroleum and nature gas rights will be on Oct. 4.
