Oilsands land sale gives Alberta the most it earned since 2011

Alberta's government earned the most in more than 10 years in a sale of rights to develop oilsands land just as crude prices surged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a public offering on Wednesday, the province raised about $53 million for oilsands rights, the most earned in a single sale since December 2011, according to government data compiled by Bloomberg.

The sale also included the largest single transaction in a decade: a company named Whispering Hills Resources Ltd. paid $14.2 million for a parcel of land in the Peace River oilsands area.

The Canadian oilsands, shunned by some international companies and investors for the region's high carbon-emitting operations, has seen its fortunes improve as buyers look to replace Russian crude.

Brent futures surged to nearly US$140 a barrel earlier in the week as the U.S. and U.K. said they would ban imports of Russian crude and many oil buyers shun Russian barrels for fear of falling foul of sanctions imposed on the country.

Alberta sells the rights to companies to develop parcels of oilsands land multiple times a year but most individual sales haven't brought in more than $1 million as development in the region slowed after prices collapsed in 2014.

Not all the land bought in the offerings is developed, and years may pass before any work begins.

The oilsands are the world's third-largest oil reserves.

The crude must be either dug out of mines or forced from the earth by injecting steam into the ground to pressure the viscous bitumen to the surface.