LAND SALE BRINGS IN $11.7 MILLION IN REVENUE

The April sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights has brought in $11.7 million in revenue for the province.

Sale revenue was almost twice as high as that for the first land sale of the year in February, but was well below that for April of last year when the price of oil was more than double its current level.

"The global economic slowdown has contributed to an 85 per cent reduction in land sale revenues for the three western provinces over the first quarter of this year," Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd said. "It's not surprising that our numbers would also be tracking lower, and we knew we'd be hard pressed to match the record year we had in 2008 - a phenomenal year for the oil and gas industry in our province.

"We are optimistic on industry activity over the balance of the year, given the investments companies have already made in land acquisition and the overall attractiveness of our oil and gas resources. Industry showed a lot of interest in what was a relatively small number of parcels on offer, and we expect to see greater bidding activity in the next sale."

April's sale included five petroleum and natural gas exploration licences that sold for $2 million and 176 lease parcels that attracted $9.7 million in bonus bids.

The Weyburn-Estevan area led the land sale with sales of $9.6 million. The Kindersley-Kerrobert area was next at $971,000, followed by the Lloydminster area at $602,000 and the Swift Current area at $509,000.

The highest price paid for a single parcel was just under $1.2 million. Canadian Coastal Resources Ltd. acquired this 2,840-hectare exploration licence near Lampman.

The highest price on a per hectare basis was just over $23,500. Badger Pass Minerals Inc. bid more than $762,000 for a shallow rights lease of a 32-hectare parcel above the Bakken Formation, six kilometres south of Stoughton.

The next sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas dispositions will be June 8, 2009.

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For more information, contact:

Bob Ellis
Energy and Resources
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1691
Email: robert.ellis@gov.sk.ca