The Estevan region has once again attracted the most interest following the provincial government’s recent public offering for oil and gas.

The bid held on Tuesday raised US$7,208,879.51 for the province. 108 parcels were put up for bid and 96 received acceptable bids, totalling 14,374.288 hectares.

This is down from the previous year, when $16,689,771.93 was raised for the August 2023 public offering.

In the Estevan area, 68 leases yielded $4,716,387.14 for 5,709,704 hectares of land.

Close behind was the Lloydminster area, which generated US$1,678,241.23 for 19 leases totaling 3,803.133 hectares.

There was also some interest in the Kindersley area, which brought in $814,251.14 for nine leases totaling 4,861,451 acres.

Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. had the highest bonus bid, offering $895,408.90 for a 441.778-acre lease north of Stoughton. The bid was $2,026.83 per acre.

The highest bid per hectare came from Millennium Land (444) Ltd., which offered $7,217.54 per hectare for a lease of 32,410 hectares west of the village of Frobisher.

Saskatchewan has generated revenue of $30,077,586.23 following three IPOs this fiscal year.

The next scheduled offering in Saskatchewan is October 1, 2024.