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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-b...article1497017/ NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE
CALGARY — From Thursday`s Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010 12:00AM EST Last updated on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010 3:34AM EST
Alberta has raised $168-million in its biggest oil and gas land sale in half a decade, posting the highest price ever paid for land as it offered a huge chunk of the province for sale to energy companies
.
Several parcels sold for $36,239.72 per hectare in yesterday`s sale, besting the $31,294.87 mark set in February.
Altogether, though, the sale failed to achieve the same per-hectare heights reached just a month ago, when the price for oil and gas licences and leases averaged $618 a hectare, and stoked hopes the March sale could bring in a record haul for Alberta, which is experiencing a rejuvenation in fortunes.
Alberta has already raised $378-million through land sales this year, up from $53-million at this time last year.
Interest in Alberta has been rekindled by two plays that could help reverse some of the declines the province has experienced, especially in natural gas
, which has seen a steep fall. A crude play called the Cardium has used drilling advances to breathe new life into one of Alberta`s oldest oil fields.
And companies are also flocking to the Duvernay, a massive gas shale play that extends over a huge part of central Alberta and shares geological traits with some of B.C.`s most promising plays.
Some see the return of money to Alberta as a sign of "guarded optimism," as companies come back to a province that is scheduled to disclose today a competitiveness review that amounts to a do-over of its recent royalty hikes. "There was parcels posted from one end of the province to the other," said Gregg Scott, president of Scott Land & Lease Ltd. "That bodes well for Alberta."
Yesterday`s sale averaged $517 per hectare, well above the annual averages in the past three years. It also places Alberta on track to soundly beat British Columbia and Saskatchewan, both of which have posted stronger numbers than Alberta in recent years.
It was the biggest land sale since Dec. 14, 2005, when the province auctioned off 414,000 hectares for $475-million.
Alberta is offering for sale an additional 286,000 hectares in two weeks. Between the two auctions, the province is selling rights to an area the size of Prince Edward Island in March.
Prior to the March 10 sale, Alberta had already brought in $210-million this year. Saskatchewan has posted $40-million in 2010 sales, and B.C. $30-million.
Land sales have typically been a major source of revenue for the Alberta government. Last year, for example, they accounted for nearly 10 per cent of the province`s non-renewable resource revenue. But that number has fallen in recent years, as a new, less industry-friendly royalty regime in Alberta and better prospects in neighbouring provinces drew investment elsewhere. Spending flocked to the Bakken light-oil play in Saskatchewan and the Montney and Horn River shale plays in B.C.
CALGARY — From Thursday`s Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010 12:00AM EST Last updated on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010 3:34AM EST
Alberta has raised $168-million in its biggest oil and gas land sale in half a decade, posting the highest price ever paid for land as it offered a huge chunk of the province for sale to energy companies
.Several parcels sold for $36,239.72 per hectare in yesterday`s sale, besting the $31,294.87 mark set in February.
Altogether, though, the sale failed to achieve the same per-hectare heights reached just a month ago, when the price for oil and gas licences and leases averaged $618 a hectare, and stoked hopes the March sale could bring in a record haul for Alberta, which is experiencing a rejuvenation in fortunes.
Alberta has already raised $378-million through land sales this year, up from $53-million at this time last year.
Interest in Alberta has been rekindled by two plays that could help reverse some of the declines the province has experienced, especially in natural gas
, which has seen a steep fall. A crude play called the Cardium has used drilling advances to breathe new life into one of Alberta`s oldest oil fields.And companies are also flocking to the Duvernay, a massive gas shale play that extends over a huge part of central Alberta and shares geological traits with some of B.C.`s most promising plays.
Some see the return of money to Alberta as a sign of "guarded optimism," as companies come back to a province that is scheduled to disclose today a competitiveness review that amounts to a do-over of its recent royalty hikes. "There was parcels posted from one end of the province to the other," said Gregg Scott, president of Scott Land & Lease Ltd. "That bodes well for Alberta."
Yesterday`s sale averaged $517 per hectare, well above the annual averages in the past three years. It also places Alberta on track to soundly beat British Columbia and Saskatchewan, both of which have posted stronger numbers than Alberta in recent years.
It was the biggest land sale since Dec. 14, 2005, when the province auctioned off 414,000 hectares for $475-million.
Alberta is offering for sale an additional 286,000 hectares in two weeks. Between the two auctions, the province is selling rights to an area the size of Prince Edward Island in March.
Prior to the March 10 sale, Alberta had already brought in $210-million this year. Saskatchewan has posted $40-million in 2010 sales, and B.C. $30-million.
Land sales have typically been a major source of revenue for the Alberta government. Last year, for example, they accounted for nearly 10 per cent of the province`s non-renewable resource revenue. But that number has fallen in recent years, as a new, less industry-friendly royalty regime in Alberta and better prospects in neighbouring provinces drew investment elsewhere. Spending flocked to the Bakken light-oil play in Saskatchewan and the Montney and Horn River shale plays in B.C.