The Government of Saskatchewan's Crown petroleum and natural gas public offering held on Tuesday, December 6, has raised $11,917,227.14 for the province.

That figure is over eight and a half times larger than the previous December offering, which brought in around $1.4 million.

The December sale is the fifth of six oil and gas public offerings scheduled for the fiscal year, with that total at $46,105,597.68.

For the calendar year, this sale completes the year with a substantial increase compared to 2021, with a total of $52,249,842.10 in revenue raised, compared to $9,095,555.03 in 2121.

Of the 136 parcels posted, 103 received acceptable bids covering 16,184.469 hectares. The average bonus bid was $736.34 per hectare with the highest accepted bid at $36,594.80 per hectare.

The Estevan area saw the most interest, bringing in $9,602,654.64 for 76 leases covering 8,217.836 hectares. The Lloydminster area also saw considerable interest, bringing in $2,276,702.98 for 22 leases and 2 exploration licenses covering 7,576.444 hectares.

The highest bonus bid received on a lease was $2,321,754.22 for a 259.657-hectare lease west of Oxbow that was awarded to Millennium Land Ltd. The highest bonus bid received on an exploration license was $602,881.93 for a 1,688.272-hectare licence west of Cut Knife that was awarded to Metropolitan Resources Inc.

The next and final sale for the fiscal year is scheduled for February 7, 2023.