Land in Alberta worth less than BC, following royalty changes

A recent report says Alberta’s soon to be implemented royalty changes will cause land in Alberta to deliver 1/4 the value of similar land in BC.

Calgary investment bank Peters & Co. concludes that the new royalty rates in Alberta, that start on January 1st, 2009, have caused more investment in BC. So far this year over $2 billion has been spent in BC on land sales compared to only $600 million in Alberta.

The Alberta Energy Ministry says in some circumstances royalty rates are higher in Alberta, but there are more active rigs working than BC and Saskatchewan combined.

The study by Peters & Co. used a 100 well Montney development drilled over a five year period. Following the study land in BC could be worth 27 per cent more than the identical land in Alberta.