LAND SALES CONTINUE TO SOAR

The sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights continued at a record clip with August's sale garnering $32.1 million in revenue for the province. This brings the calendar year total to $134.4 million and puts provincial sales on pace to eclipse the $200 million mark in one year for the first time ever.

"The industry has already spent as much this year as all of last year combined on rights acquisitions," Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline said. "More and more companies are investing in Saskatchewan due to our fiscal competitiveness and rich resource opportunities."

This month's sale included eight exploration licences that sold for $10 million and 203 lease parcels that brought in $22.1 million.

In addition, one special exploratory permit was awarded on the basis of a work commitment. This disposition covering five townships in the Smeaton area, east of Prince Albert, was awarded to Standard Land Company Inc. on a work commitment of $1.2 million over the next two years.

The Weyburn-Estevan area continued to lead the way with bonus bids totalling $15.4 million. The Kindersley-Kerrobert area was next at over $11 million, followed by the Swift Current area at $4.5 million and the Lloydminster area at $1.2 million. The provincial average on a per-hectare basis set a new record at $550/ha.

The highest price paid for a single parcel was over $4.5 million. Prairie Land & Investment Services Ltd. purchased this exploration licence of 4¼ sections located just northwest of Forget in southeastern Saskatchewan.

The highest price paid on a per-hectare basis was $5,238. Again, Prairie Land & Investment Services Ltd. was the successful bidder acquiring a 2½ section lease parcel in the red-hot Shackleton field for almost $3.4 million.

The next sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas dispositions will be October 17th, 2006.

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For More Information, Contact:

Ed Dancsok Industry and Resources Regina Phone: (306) 787-2602