Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry Jamie Ballem has announced the results of the Call for Bids for oil and natural gas exploration rights on four Island properties.
The top bidder for all four properties, PetroWorth Resources Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, was issued exploration permits after forwarding the prescribed fees and security. The properties include three parcels of land in eastern Kings County, totalling approximately 19,000 hectares, and one in the central area of the province encompassing about 55,500 hectares.
As part of the bid process, the company committed to spend at least $1 million on the 74,500 hectares. PetroWorth has invested $5 million in adjacent blocks of land over the past two years.
This was the second Call for Bids for oil and natural gas exploration rights in PEI in less than four months. Four exploration permits were issued this past summer for a total of more than 230,000 hectares between Summerside and Charlottetown. The total lands under exploration permits is now close to 450,000 hectares or 1.1 million acres. Other permit holders are BP Canada Energy Company of Calgary Alberta; Corridor Resources Inc., which is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Rally Energy Corporation of Calgary, Alberta.
Under the province’s Oil and Natural Gas Act, the process of issuing an oil and natural gas permit starts with the Minister receiving a written request that lands be submitted in a Call for Bids. Bid packages are made available to prospective bidders which describe the area up for bid, criteria for selection and terms and conditions that must be met by the bidder. As part of the process, bidders must submit a work plan and post a performance bond that represents one quarter of the value of the work that is to be carried out during the six-year term of the permit.
The issuance of an oil and gas permit does not carry surface property rights to the successful bidder. Access to, or over, private property requires the prior permission of the landowner.