Recent History – 1999
Dec. 22, 1999
The December sale of oil and gas rights brought in $24.4 million bringing the total sale revenues for 1999 to $176 million, Premier and energy and mines minister Dan Miller announced Monday.
“Overall, the numbers for this year prove efforts to work with the oil and gas industry to increase investments in the province are paying off,” Miller said. “The total far surpasses 1998’s revenue of $96 million.”
This month’s sale included a 6,435-hectare parcel in the Muskwa-Kechika special management zone that drew a bid of $7.4 million Ñ the largest amount ever paid for a single drilling licence in B.C.
“This major investment shows that industry is confident it can work within the stringent rules set up to protect the environment in the Muskwa-Kechika and other special management zones,” Miller said.
Four parcels were sold in the East Kootenays, where industry is examining the potential for producing gas contained in coal seams. The four drilling licences, covering 32,870 ha., brought in a total of $7.5 million in bids.
The December sale offered a total of 57 drilling licences and 28 leases, covering 136,790 ha. Drilling licences are forms of tenure that provide exclusive rights to apply for permission to drill oil and gas wells in a defined area. Leases, in addition to providing exclusive drilling application rights, also convey production rights.
Forty licences were sold, covering 92,898 ha. The top price for a licence of $1,152 per hectare came from Murphy Oil Company Ltd. and Anderson Resources Ltd. for the Muskwa-Kechika parcel 175 km. southwest of Fort Nelson.
Twenty-six of the leases were sold, covering 6,994 ha. The top price for a lease of $620 per hectare was paid by Windfall Resources Ltd. for a parcel 50 km. north of Fort St. John in the Rigel gas field. The total bid for this 419-ha. lease was $259,826.
The next sale of oil and gas rights is set for Jan. 19 and will offer 101 parcels covering 82,403 hectares in northeastern British Columbia.