Saskatchewan's resurgent oil and gas industry is ending 2010 on a high with the best December sale ever of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights.
December's sale brought in $56.6 million in revenue to the province and boosted year-end land sale revenue to $463 million, almost four times the $118 million in revenue collected for 2009. This makes 2010 the second-best year on record for revenues from land sales.
"We're very pleased with the way our industry has bounced back this year after a challenging 2009 for the industry worldwide," Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd said. "We're seeing increased investment and drilling, which translate into additional spin-off economic activity and benefits for the people of Saskatchewan.
"Our December sale is traditionally a slower sale, but this one garnered nearly $10 million more in revenue than the previous benchmarks for December. That bodes well for future activity by the industry in 2011 and beyond."
December's sale included three petroleum and natural gas exploration licences that sold for $1.7 million and 245 lease parcels that attracted $55 million in bonus bids.
The Swift Current area, with heightened interest in the Lower Shaunavon play, received the most bids with sales of $25.2 million. The Weyburn-Estevan area was next at $17.8 million, followed by the Lloydminster area at $7.5 million and the Kindersley-Kerrobert area at $6.1 million.
The highest price for a single parcel was $6.5 million, paid by Charter Land Services Inc. for a 1,036-hectare lease near Shaunavon.
The highest price on a per-hectare basis was $35,211. Scott Land & Lease Ltd. bid $4.7 million for a 133-hectare lease parcel near Stoughton.
The next sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas dispositions will be held on February 7, 2011.
