Drilling rights sale richest in 14 years

[Calgary Herald]

Alberta continues to rack up big sales in oil and gas drilling rights, taking in $70 million at an auction Wednesday, for an average price of $790 per hectare.

The first sale of the month generated $112 million. The combined $182 million for non-oilsands drilling rights makes this the richest April total in at least 14 years, dwarfing the next biggest amount, $316 million raised in April 2000.

Last April, only $16 million was invested.

The sale comes after land-sale spending – a key indicator of future drilling intentions – surged in Alberta in the first quarter of 2010 to $450 million, up from only $56 million a year earlier.