B.C. pushes Canadian land sales to new high

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary Correspondent

Unparalleled bidding in British Columbia last month pushed government land sales in Canada to a record C$1.39 billion for the first nine months of 2003, about C$66 million ahead of the previous benchmark in 2001.

The C$466 million sale on Sept. 10 that shifted natural gas interest to northeastern British Columbia bumped the province’s year-to-date payments to C$600 million, posing a challenge to Alberta, whose three-quarter total was C$687 million.

Even more startling in the interprovincial rivalry, British Columbia raked in its windfall from only 610,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) against Alberta’s 2.41 million hectares (5.96 million acres).

The Sept. 10 sale netted British Columbia a stunning average of C$2,321 per hectare and gave it an average C$983 per hectare for the first nine months, compared with Alberta’s C$285.

To Alberta’s east, Saskatchewan is also enjoying a bonanza year, selling 777,000 hectares, up 69 percent from last year, for C$106.5 million, posting its best year in more than two decades.

The magnet in Saskatchewan is the Swift Current region that includes the Shackleton/Capri area, where Husky Energy has reported significant discoveries.

So far this year, bidders have snapped up 409,000 hectares in Swift Current, compared with 239,000 for all of last year and 153,000 in 2001.

In Alberta, northern land sales climbed to 1.28 million hectares from 917,000 a year ago, but the oil sands are lagging well behind 2002 at 59,000 hectares against 165,000.