The public offering of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights on Oct. 4 pretty well doubled the amount of money taken in by the province for 2016-17. It was revealed that $17.23 million had been realized in the sale, bringing the current year鈥檚 total to date, to $34 million. There are two sales remaining for this fiscal year.聽
The average per-hectare price of $376 is the highest among western Canadian public offerings, indicating sustained interest in Saskatchewan by the industry.聽
The $17.23 million raised this month compares with the $9.98 million raised in the previous, more modest land offering sale, held in August.聽
Once again the southeast corner led the province in terms of interest, and for the first time in recent history, all licences and leases offered in this region, were purchased. The two exploratory licences for land located west of Estevan received bonus bids of $6.9 million from Millennium Land Ltd. for a large 2,800 hectare spread of targets including the Midale and Frobisher Beds of the Madison Group, the Bakken Formation and the Three Forks Group/Torquay Formation. The average price per hectare for the licenced parcels was just over $2,440.聽
The 57 leases sold for $4.33 million, an average of $433.10 per hectare for the total of $11.245 million.聽
Millennium also purchased seven of the lease parcels up for bids in the southeast sector.聽
The highest dollar per hectare in the offering was received from Synergy Land Services Ltd., who paid $3,151 for a 32.38 hectare parcel located within the Steelman Midale and Frobisher Beds Oil Pools, 35 kilometres northeast of Estevan.聽
The second most popular area during the sale was near Kindersley where $3.27 million was spent by land companies who picked up five of the six licences that were up for grabs along with 46 of the 73 leases.聽
Synergy was the top purchaser in the Kindersley area, spending $1.39 million for five lease parcels plus two of the exploration licences.聽
Swift Current area had a strong bounce-back on the interest scale at this sale when three of the nine licences up for sale, were taken along with 23 of the 45 lease offerings for a total of $2.46 million.聽
In the Lloydminster region, the bids amounted to $248,700 with a smaller land base offering on tap. A total of 21 of the 35 leases offered, were sold.聽
鈥淣othing has changed in Saskatchewan when it comes to our accessible resource base, our favourable operating environment and our transparent policy regime,鈥� said the newly appointed Energy and Resources Minister Dustin Duncan. 鈥淭his results in clear investment opportunities for the industry, and we continue our work to encourage and enable those opportunities in anticipation of future development.鈥澛�
The next public offering of land rights will be held on Dec. 6.聽
