The June sale of oil and gas rights by the provincial government raised a total of $3.9 million, with the Weyburn-Estevan area leading, garnering $1.8 million of the bids.
This sale brings the total year-to-date to just over $12 million in revenues.
鈥淭he Government of Saskatchewan has worked hard to develop a positive investment climate, with a royalty regime that is widely recognized as stable, and compares favourably with other jurisdictions,鈥� said Economy Minister Bill Boyd.
Saskatchewan is ranked first in Canada and in the world鈥檚 top 10 in the Fraser Institute鈥檚 most recent annual Global Petroleum Survey of petroleum executives in the category of attractive jurisdictions for investment in petroleum exploration and development.
For the calendar year-to-date, Saskatchewan鈥檚 public offerings are averaging $336 per hectare, compared to an average price of $123 per hectare in Alberta, and $178 per hectare in B.C.
Following the Weyburn-Estevan area, Kindersley was second at $1.5 million.
The highest offer for a parcel of land in this offering was $1 million for a 389-ha lease 45-km west of Estevan by Mammoth Land Services Ltd., in the Bromhead-Midale Beds Pool. This parcel is prospective for multiple target, including the Bakken formation and the Three Forks Group-Torquay formation. This parcel also brought the highest price on a per-hectare basis at $2,654.
Mammoth was also the top purchaser of acreage in the southeast, as they spent $1,120,083 to acquire 13 lease parcels.
In the Weyburn-Estevan area, there were 18 leases covering 4,403 hectares posted, of which 16 were sold covering 3,885 ha for a total of $1,876066 or $482.90 per ha.
The next sale of petroleum and natural rights will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
