Released on June 10, 2004
Interest in Saskatchewan's energy sector remains strong as the latest land sale numbers show.June's land sale generated $7.1 million for the province, bringing the calendar-year total to $36.7 million. Although this year's totals are down from the record pace of last year, the first three sales of 2004 are well above average for the last five years.
"Sale activity in our heavy oil resources is gaining momentum," Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline said. "Interest is fueled by a number of factors including an attractive price, relative ease of finding the resource, and new heavy oil technologies."
This month's sale included 12 exploration licences that sold for $2 million and 154 lease parcels that brought in $5.1 million.
In addition to the parcels sold for bonus bids, two special exploratory permits were awarded on the basis of work commitments. One permit, covering 120,000 hectares located in the Wood Mountain area, was awarded to EnCana Corporation with a work commitment bid of $6 million. The other permit, located east of Porcupine Plain, received a commitment from Scott Oil and Gas Ltd. of $500,000 for work on 95,000 hectares.
The Lloydminster area, rich in heavy oil reserves, attracted the most activity with sales of $2.9 million. The Swift Current area was next at $1.8 million, followed closely by the Weyburn-Estevan area at $1.7 million, and finally the Kindersley-Kerrobert area at just over $700,000.
The highest price received for a single parcel was $330,700. This 18-section exploration licence located just west of Minton in south-central Saskatchewan was purchased by Scott Land & Lease Ltd. of Calgary.
The highest price on a per-hectare basis was $3,027. Canadian Natural Resources Limited paid $80,868 for a 26.71 hectare lease parcel 25 km north of Lloydminster.
The next sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas dispositions will be August 10th, 2004.
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For More Information, Contact:
| Ed Dancsok Industry and Resources Regina Phone: (306) 787-2602 |