From Globe & Mail (Canada)
DAVE EBNER
Thursday, July 13, 2006
CALGARY — Alberta has smashed another record, increasing its take from the sale of oil and gas exploration rights to $2.31-billion this year, breaking 2005’s $2.26-billion haul barely half way through 2006.
The province raised $151-million its July 12 sale of exploration rights, a process conducted every two weeks with the latest tally announced Wednesday evening.
Spending on oil sands acreage – an increasingly scarce commodity – accounted for two-thirds of the latest sale and has driven the frenzy for exploration rights this year.