INDUSTRY INFORMATION
Opportunities
Crown Petroleum and Natural Gas Tenure
Royalties and Fiscal Regimes
... CBG Royalty Regime
... Fees, Royalties and Taxes
Regulations
Opportunities
British Columbia has an estimated resource of 90 trillion cubic feet of coalbed gas (CBG). This resource
offers significant opportunities for CBG development in coalfields throughout the province.
In British Columbia a company must obtain petroleum and natural gas rights in order to begin the
process to access, explore and develop CBG. The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources’ Titles Division is responsible
for issuing and administering the provincially owned rights.
2006/2007 Petroleum and Natural Gas Rights Disposition Dates
Disposition dates and information on the disposition of petroleum and natural gas rights.
Coalbed Gas Opportunities in Southeastern British Columbia – Promotional Brochure
(PDF
2.7MB)
A promotional brochure on Coalbed gas opportunities in Crowsnest Coalfield
Coalbed Gas Opportunities in Crowsnest Coalfield - Information Package
(PDF 180KB)
An outline of the coal geology, CBG in-place resource, historical exploration and production activities,
regulatory process and other useful information for potential investors.
Coalbed Gas Potential in British Columbia, Petroleum Geology Paper 2004-1 (PDF 130MB)
This publication provides a brief overview of the major coalfields in British Columbia and their coalbed gas potential. Each
coalfield is summarized and illustrated with simple figures, images and tables. The entire document is 130 MB. The document
can be downloaded in a smaller size by coalfield.
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Crown Petroleum and Natural Gas Tenure
Tenure is time-limited ownership of a
specific parcel of subsurface petroleum and natural gas rights. Tenure
confers the right to apply to the Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) to access,
explore and develop the petroleum and natural gas according to applicable
statutory regulations.
Tenure is not required to drill test holes;
however, industry must obtain permission from the OGC before drilling. In
order to produce coalbed gas (CBG), industry must acquire Petroleum and
Natural Gas (PNG) tenure rights.
The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum
Resources’ Titles
Division is responsible for issuing and administering provincially owned
PNG rights. Tenure is sold monthly, based on requests from industry for
specific parcels. Tenure is typically awarded to the highest bidder;
however, not every parcel offered is purchased. There may be no bids
received or the bids are deemed to be unacceptable, as they do not provide
sufficient return to the province based on a technical evaluation.
For more information
please go to:
To subscribe to the Information Letters, Titles Division
Sales Notices, and/or Titles Division Sales Results email lists please visit the
Oil and Gas Titles Homepage.
For more information on surface and subsurface rights and
land use planning please visit the Regulatory Information under the Technical & Regulatory Information section of the CBG website.
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Royalties and Fiscal Regime
CBG Royalty Regime
Coalbed Gas (CBG) has the potential to play a significant role in British Columbia’s energy economy. The royalty regime for CBG reflects
the unique development and production costs of this resource by providing appropriate royalty credits to initiate the development of the
CBG industry. It will facilitate the development of provincial CBG resources while providing a reasonable return to natural gas producers
and the Crown.
The CBG royalty regime:
- Includes produced-water handling costs which are now part of the producer cost of service
allowance, supporting any costs of added water management;
- Creates a royalty bank to collect excess allowance to be used against future assessed CBG
royalties;
- Increases the marginal well adjustment factor threshold to 600,000 cubic feet per day from
180,000 cubic feet per day to address the lower production rates; and
- Provides a $50,000 royalty credit for CBG wells drilled before July 1, 2008.
The CBG marginal well adjustment factor is shown in this Chart.
(PDF 14.20KB)
To support major investment to develop CBG and other unconventional gas resources,
The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources has a
Call For Proposals to Develop Unconventional Resources Using a Net Profit Royalty Regime.
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Fees, Royalties and Taxes
For information on fees, royalties and taxes associated with petroleum and natural gas development, please
visit the following web pages:
Tenure:
The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Titles Division.
Well Licensing and Applications:
Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) Application Fees site.
Oil and Gas Activities and Related Regulations:
Petroleum and Natural Gas Act
Royalties and Taxes:
Ministry of Provincial Revenue Mineral, Oil and Gas Revenue Branch.
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Regulations
In 1998 the Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) was established under the
Oil and Gas Commission Act as part of the provincial government’s Oil and Gas Initiative. Reporting
to the Minister of Energy and Mines, this independent Public Agency is responsible for regulating British Columbia’s oil and gas sector.
The OGC has a legislated mandate to make decisions on oil and gas applications that balance the broad environmental, economic and social
outcomes of oil and gas exploration and development. The OGC also has a responsibility to consult with First Nations, strengthen
relationships with stakeholders and clients, ensure public safety and protection of the environment, and streamline regulatory processes.
For more information please visit the Regulatory Information under the
Technical & Regulatory Information section
of the CBG website.
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Last Updated
September 21, 2006 |
