Government land grab shows no sign of slackening in Canada

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Government land sales in Alberta and British Columbia entered 2004 the way they exited 2003 — at a sizzling pace.

The first auction of the year in Alberta fetched C$57.1 million for 142,401 conventional hectares (351,873 acres) and 33,536 hectares (82,867 acres) of oil sands leases.

British Columbia pumped C$20.6 million into government coffers when 41,202 hectares (101,810 acres) changed hands, almost C$3 million ahead of the opening sale last year.

On a comparative basis, sales of conventional properties in Alberta averaged C$383.87 per hectare, compared with British Columbia’s C$500.80.

Top bidders were Samson Canada, a unit of Oklahoma-based Samson Investment, which paid C$3.04 million for 3,328 hectares or an average C$912.47 per hectare, for a lease southeast of Grande Prairie in northwestern Alberta.

Windfall Resources paid an average C$704.87 per hectare for 2,304 hectares of an adjacent lease in an area dominated by natural gas development, including deeper exploration prospects.

Dynamic Oil & Gas and StarPoint Energy made a successful bid of C$1.73 million for 283 hectares — at a breathtaking average of C$6,104 per hectare — near Cypress in northeastern British Columbia and paid a similar amount for an adjoining 283-hectare parcel.

Windfall paid $1.07 million or $751.67 per hectare for 1,418 hectares about 6 miles southwest of the Cypress parcel.

Also on the land front, final statistics for 2003 show Chevron Canada Resources dominated land buying in Canada by obtaining 1.06 million hectares in Newfoundland’s Orphan basin, followed by its partners in the venture, ExxonMobil Canada and Imperial Oil, with 532,497 hectares and 31,248 hectares respectively.

Scott Land & Lease, acting for confidential clients, accumulated 823,618 hectares, followed by 12 other brokers.

The year saw 599 companies buy or commit exploration funds to gain access to land, compared with 573 in 2002.

Outside of brokers, Burlington Resources Canada, Husky Energy and Canadian Natural Resources all surpassed the C$20 million mark in their acquisitions.