By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Feb. 1 -- Hunt Oil Co. of Canada Inc., a subsidiary of privately held Hunt Oil Co., Dallas, was awarded oil and gas exploration rights in the Peel Plateau of northwest Canada by Yukon province officials Friday.
In response to the province's third call for bids, which closed Thursday, Hunt Oil submitted the winning proposal to spend $1.16 million to explore 155 sections with an area of about 40,200 hectares located near 66 degrees north latitude and 134 degrees west longitude, just south of the Arctic Circle.
"Issuing oil and gas rights in the Peel Plateau is another positive step we are taking to promote investment in and responsible development of the Yukon's natural resources," said Scott Kent, the economic development minister for the province. "A new player entering Yukon's oil and gas industry will mean there are more opportunities for Yukon people."
The award includes the right to explore for oil and gas over a specific period and to produce and market any discovery. But before any oil and gas activity can begin, the company must obtain an oil and gas activity license that triggers an environmental assessment.
There were 18 wells drilled in the Peel Plateau area during the 1960s and 1970swhen it was under federal management. One of those wells, the Shell Peel River I-21, was drilled and abandoned within the parcel. The others were drilled within a 100-kilometre radius of the parcel, officials said.
However, they said, the Peel Plateau area has remained inactive for the past 23 years. Yukon took control of oil and gas resources from the federal government in 1998.
A resource assessment of the Peel Plateau Basin, completed by Canada's National Energy Board in March 1999 and updated in November 2000, identified the potential for 2.29 tcf of gas and 21.3 million bbl of oil. A new resource assessment of the region is scheduled for publication in May.
"We will continue to make land available on a regular basis for exploration to provide certainty to companies interested in exploring in the Yukon," said Kent. The government plans to initiate its next oil and gas rights disposition process in late spring.
The parcel awarded to Hunt Oil is within the primary use area of the Tetlit Gwich'in First Nation and the traditional territory of Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation. The closest permanent settlement is at Eagle Plains, approximately 100 km to the northwest. Fort McPherson lies on the Peel River approximately 150 km north of the parcel.
