Introduction
Petroleum and natural gas (PNG) rights owned by the Province of Alberta can be acquired through a competitive bid auction held about every two weeks. PNG leases and licences are issued to the successful bidders. Yearly, the province holds an average of 24 land auctions (sales). As of March 2024, there were 65 thousand active PNG agreements in Alberta.
After a PNG Tenure mineral agreement is acquired a number of activities follow, including drilling well(s), producing oil and/or natural gas, and proving productivity to continue an agreement. If the leased mineral rights are not developed, or, are no longer productive, the agreement is cancelled and the mineral rights return to the Crown.
Tenure sales
See the Public offering of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights by calendar year (bonuses, hectares, and average price per hectare – each file includes data for Plains, Northern, Foothills and grand totals).
The best measure of the land sale is the average price paid per hectare. The top sale by average price per hectare was held April 17, 2024. A total of $13 million was collected at an average price of $4,498.60 per hectare. June 1, 2011, remains the highest annual bonus amount for petroleum and natural gas rights at $3.536 billion.
The highest price per hectare was $130,060.00 per hectare, for a parcel sold in the July 5, 1978 sale. The lowest price per hectare a parcel sold for at that time was $1.25 for licences and $2.50 for leases. Today the minimum bid, or lowest price per hectare, accepted for both licences and leases is $35.00/ha. This was changed on October 23, 2020.
The most money paid for one parcel of petroleum and natural gas rights was $123.6 million on August 24, 2011.
Leases and licences calendar year summary
Table 1. Summary of annual public offering of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights by calendar year – leases and licences
| Year | Parcels sold | Total bonus | Total hectares | Average $/hectare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1354 | $370,118,321.54 | 790,260.710 | $468.35 |
| 2022 | 1244 | $333,745,376.50 | 585,556.608 | $569.96 |
| 2021 | 839 | $108,194,157.98 | 428,965.700 | $252.22 |
| 2020 | 392 | $29,416,405.64 | 219,688.914 | $133.90 |
| 2019 | 1,673 | $119,270,187.88 | 820,433.764 | $145.37 |
| 2018 | 2,352 | $405,026,965.34 | 1,360,548.254 | $297.69 |
Additional years
Table 2. Summary of Annual Public Offering of Crown Petroleum and Natural Gas Rights by fiscal year (April to March) – leases and licences
| Year | Sales held | Parcels sold | Total bonus | Total hectares | Avg. $/HA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/2024 | 24 | 1,356 | $376,250,543.59 | 781,725.312 | $481.31 |
| 2022/2023 | 24 | 1,354 | $381,821,533.67 | 658,494.31 | $579.84 |
| 2021/2022 | 23 | 847 | $162,535,706.21 | 495,004.820 | $328.35 |
| 2020/2021 | 7 | 329 | $20,684,799.07 | 152,504.90 | $135.63 |
| 2019/2020 | 24 | 1,501 | $106,277,200.07 | 774,896.362 | $137.15 |
| 2018/2019 | 24 | 2,084 | $353,608,318.88 | 1,301,265.722 | $271.74 |
Additional years
Revenue and activity by fiscal year (April to March)
Table 3. Petroleum and Natural Gas (PNG) Agreements by Year
| 2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Hectares in Active PNG Agreements | 23,085,506 | 23,300,973 | 24,142,030 | 25,150,901 | 26,604,510 |
| Number of active PNG Agreements | 64,688 | 65,290 | 67,001 | 69,244 | 73,065 |
Table 4. Annual Revenue (rounded to the nearest dollar)
| 2023-2024 ($) | 2022-2023 ($) | 2021-2022 ($) | 2020-2021 ($) | 2019-2020 ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Offering (bonus) | 376,250,544 | 381,597,401 | 162,535,706 | 162,535,706 | 20,684,799 |
| Annual Rent | 79,819,507 | 79,680,921 | 82,231,532 | 88,321,507 | 94,891,545 |
| Offset Compensation | 1,736,179 | 3,783,889 | 2,470,491 | 460,503 | 1,079,188 |
Table 5. Annual Activity
| 2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNG Agreements Issued | 1,356 | 1,354 | 855 | 332 | 1,523 |
| PNG Agreements Surrendered | 362 | 708 | 1,489 | 3,114 | 1,556 |
| PNG Agreements Renewed | 1,284 | 1,462 | 1,391 | 578 | 1,402 |
| PNG Agreements Transferred | 6,058 | 4,684 | 5,976 | 7,285 | 6,498 |
| PNG Agreements Cancelled | 1,843 | 2,215 | 1,987 | 1,160 | 2,596 |
| Non-Productivity Notices Issued | 407 | 235 | 502 | 478 | 732 |
| Trespass Determined | 2 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 14 |
Contact
Connect with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Tenure division:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-644-2300
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email:
Energy and Minerals
Bidding – [email protected]
Crown land data – [email protected]
Gas royalty – [email protected]
Oil royalty – [email protected]
PNG continuations – [email protected]
Geothermal – [email protected]
Postings – [email protected]
Rentals – [email protected]
Transfers – [email protected]
Unit agreements – [email protected]
Well administration – [email protected]
Crown Mineral Activity – [email protected]
Environment and Protected Areas
GLIMPS – [email protected]
Address:
Alberta Energy and Minerals
Petroleum and Natural Gas Tenure
North Petroleum Plaza
9945 108 Street*
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2G6
*Couriers report to the 2nd floor.