A total of $20.1 million in revenue was raised in Saskatchewan’s December public offering of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights, which featured significant attention in the Wilkie and St. Walburg areas in west-central and northwest Saskatchewan.
After the fifth of six public offerings scheduled throughout the fiscal year, the 2018-19 revenue total now stands at $47.3 million with the December offering, generating the largest revenue total for a single sale since June 2017.
Results were briefly delayed due to the major power outage that affected much of Saskatchewan on Dec. 4.
The sale process was temporarily suspended, then concluded the following day, in order to provide a secure bidding opportunity for industry.
The figures were released Dec. 7.
“Saskatchewan continues to be an attractive destination for investment by the oil and gas industry,” Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre said in a release. “Our competitive policies and incentives, designed in collaboration with industry, encourage sustainable activity, job growth, and good resource management.”
Eight exploration licences totalling 17,899.930 hectares were purchased for a total of $15,314,917. Three exploration licences surrounding the Town of Wilkie were purchased for $13,533,909. Two were purchased by BASM Land & Resources Ltd. One was also purchased by NRG LandSolutions Inc.
The highest bonus bid for a parcel was $9,126,103 for 5,569 hectares. This parcel is located east of Wilkie and was purchased by BASM Land & Resources Ltd. The top dollars per hectare in this public offering was $5,037/hectare for a 64.75-hectare parcel located north of St. Walburg.
This parcel was purchased by BASM Land & Resources Ltd. and is prospective for oil in the Mannville Group.
The total amount received in the southeast region was $3,083,599, an average of $465.76/hectare. This compares to $664,626, an average of $463.17/hectare at the last offering.
The top bidder in this area was NRG LandSolutions Inc., who spent $1,127,628 to acquire a 2,913.768-hectare licence, located three kilometres east of the Star Valley Frobisher Alida Oil Pool, six kilometres north of Arcola.
The top price paid for a single lease in this area was $402,773, paid by Crescent Point Energy Corp., for a 226.626-hectare parcel situated adjacent to the Viewfield Bakken Oil Pool, 15 kilometres southeast of Arcola.
The highest dollar per hectare in this area was received from Millennium Land Ltd., who paid $4,640 per hectare for a 64.75-hectare parcel located 1.6 kilometres west of the Florence Frobisher Oil Pool, 10 kilometres south of Glen Ewen.
The scheduled date for the next and final offering for the fiscal year will be Feb. 5, 2019.
