B.C. benefits from active land sales

British Columbia notched its third-best land sale of the year on Sept. 13, raking in almost C$68 million and pushing its year-to-date tally close to C$500 million, C$120 million ahead of its nine-month results last year.

Although trailing well behind Alberta’s comparable C$2.3 billion, B.C. still commands Canada’s highest per-acre average prices as operators round up exploration prospects in its gas-rich northeast region, despite the dwindling interest in drilling for gas. The latest sale of licenses and leases, which saw 191,000 acres change hands, was led by three parcels northeast of Fort St. John that fetched more than C$10 million each.

For the year-to-date the government has collected C$495.6 million from 1.22 million acres, compared with C$377 million from 1.11 million acres at the same time in 2005, with the per-acre average climbing almost 20 percent to C$405.

Although not the largest bid, Petro-Canada logged the top payment of C$612 per acre for 704 acres northwest of Fort St. John, adjacent to properties where Canadian Natural Resources and Anadarko Canada have wells licensed.

The three C$10 million bids were made by brokers on behalf of clients who did not identify themselves.

—Gary Park