The Saskatchewan Crown land sale for oil and gas mineral rights was worse than the last one, but better that the one before that. The Crown land sale results announced by the Ministry of Energy and Resources on Oct. 30 saw $769,849 in revenue brought in. In August, it was $2.4 million, while the June sale saw $442,000.
Land sales occur every two months are posted several months in advance. Oil companies, typically through their land agents, will ask the Ministry of Energy and Resources to put a certain parcel up for bid (e.g. post it), and then bid competitively on that parcel.Â
This is the fourth of six oil and gas public offerings and brings the cumulative 2020-21 fiscal year total to $5,317,643.
This time around there 137 leases covering 14,513 hectares were posted, but only 59 parcels covering 6,329 hectares were sold.
Crescent Point Energy Corp. was the most active bidder in this offering, picking up eight leases totalling 777 hectares for $211,526, an average of $272 per hectare. It is odd that Crescent Point itself would show up on this land sale, as the company has traditionally always used land agents to mask their activity. It also indicates that after a few years of disposing of acreage, Crescent Point is again in the game of acquiring it.
The Estevan and Swift Current areas brought in the majority of the bid activity.Â
The Estevan area received $362,967 in bids for 39 parcels totalling 2,574 hectares. The highest bonus bid received in the Estevan area was on a 259 hectare lease located four kilometres west of Lampman and adjacent to the Bryant Midale Beds Oil Pool and the Bryant Frobisher Beds Oil Pool. Aldon Oils Ltd. bid $40,111 or $155 per hectare on this parcel.
Villanova Energy Inc. bid $772/hectare on a 32 hectare lease, which is the top dollars per hectare received on a parcel in the Estevan area.
Crescent Point Energy Corp. was the most active bidder in this area, picking up five leases totalling 324 hectares for $103,080, an average of $318 per hectare.
In the Swift Current area, 15 of 34 posted leases sold, totalling 2,202 hectares. That brought in $209,794, averaging $95 per hectare. The highest bonus bid received in the Swift Current area was $71,971 on a 259 hectare lease located two kilometres east of Pennant, adjacent to the Battrum Roseray Sand Oil Pool and the Pennant Upper Shaunavon Oil Pool. Another lease near Pennant, totalling 65 hectares, received $29,612 or $457 per hectare, the top dollars per hectare in the Swift Current area. Crescent Point Energy Corp. was the successful bidder on both of these leases.
Crescent Point Energy Corp. was the most active bidder in this area, picking up three leases totalling 453 hectares for $108,446, an average of $239 per hectare.
818541 Alberta Ltd. bid a total of $36,237 for two leases located in the Kindersley area. One lease, totalling 518 hectares, is located four kilometres south of Luseland and was picked up for $18,187 or $35/hectare. The other lease, totalling 259 hectares, is located nine kilometres northwest of Kerrobert and was purchased for $18,050 or $70 per hectare.
The highest bonus bid received in the October public offering was $84,922 for a lease in the Lloydminster area. This 259 hectare lease was awarded to Lacadena Land Company Inc. and is prospective for heavy oil in the Mannville Group.
The scheduled date for the next public offering is December 1, 2020.
Crescent Point is back in the game of acquiring land in southeast Saskatchewan, as indicated by the October Crown land sale. This time, however, they didn’t do it through land agents. This is a Crescent Point lease near Stoughton from earlier in the fall. Photo by Brian Zinchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
