Oil sands make strong showing at land sale

Oil sands rights attracted another C$26 million for almost 50,000 acres at the latest Alberta government land sale at an average per-acre price four times that of conventional leases.

For the first eight months of 2006, the scramble to lock up oil sands prospects has accounted for about half of the C$2.55 billion in successful bids for both conventional and unconventional rights covering a combined 7.54 million acres, compared with 4.89 million acres at the same time in 2005.

The overall per-acre average price has climbed 48 percent from 2005, reflecting the highly competitive race to corner exploration opportunities.

Leading the buyers at the most recent auction was Maverick Land Consulting, acting for an unidentified client, which paid C$5.23 million for 2,530 acres in the Wabasca region of northeastern Alberta.

The government collected a total C$76 million from the sale.

—Gary Park