Oil industry land sales net Sask. $243 M
Oil continues to be a hot commodity in Saskatchewan, with the second-biggest land sale in the province's history happening earlier this week.
The provincial government's August auction, in which companies bid for the right to drill for oil and gas, raised $242.7 million. That was only slightly above what was raised in the record-setting April auction.
"I think what it shows is ... we have a very competitive marketplace here in Saskatchewan [and] the companies are responding to that," said Energy Minister Bill Boyd. "They see a royalty structure, they see a regulatory structure, they see a business climate that is very, very positive."
As was the case in previous auctions this year, much of the money is being spent in the oilpatch in the hot Weyburn-Estevan area.
If there was one surprise in the auction results, it might have been that none of the money came from companies wanting to explore Saskatchewan's oilsands.
There were some bids, but none of them was acceptable to the government.
"The companies look at it, bid what they think is appropriate, and then as the ministry we look and see whether we feel that it's competitive or not," Boyd said. "In this case, we didn't think that was the case and withdrew them."
Boyd says he's not worried, because most companies are in the conventional oil business and that's booming.
There are two more land auctions left this year. Saskatchewan's year-to-date revenue figure is a record $848.1 million.
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