The Department of Energy (DOE) disposes of and administers Crown mineral rights on behalf of Albertans. On a yearly basis, DOE holds an average of 24 land sales and issues approximately 9,000 agreements. There are approximately 105,000 mineral agreements administered by DOE. These agreements change hands from time to time and when this happens DOE must register the change, referred to as a transfer. Transfers are handled daily as they arise and affect anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 agreements annually.

“e-Tenure” is a three-phase process to convert transfers of registered interest in Crown mineral agreements, postings and bidding on the sale of petroleum and natural gas or oil sands rights to a web-based electronic system. e-Tenure will, over time, eliminate the manual submission of forms by industry.

Frequently Asked Questions on e-Tenure

• What are the benefits of e-Tenure?
• Who is behind e-Tenure?
• How is the project and related changes being managed?
• What is changing?
• Are there any other e-Tenure initiatives being considered?
• E-Tenure Key Milestones and Events Timeline
• Contacts

What are the benefits of e-Tenure?

• Easy centralized access to accurate, comprehensive and timely information will streamline business processes for both Alberta’s energy industries and the DOE, saving time and money for companies and taxpayers.
• It will reduce turn-around times and increase data accuracy and reliability. The department estimates a reduction in turn-around times with transfers of about 75 per cent; and
• It will allow for greater access to the land sale process, regardless of geographic location, while maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the land sales process.

Who is behind e-Tenure?

• e-Tenure is both a DOE and an oil and gas industry initiative.
• Industry representation includes the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (SEPAC), Canadian Association of Petroleum Landmen (CAPL) and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Land Administration (CAPLA).

How is the project and related changes being managed?

• Industry and vendors (systems service providers) are actively involved in all three phases, from the development of business requirements through to the review and testing of the system before each phase is implemented.

What is changing?

Phase One: e-Transfers - Implemented March 31, 2004

The focus of this phase was the electronic creation, submission and approval of agreement transfer forms that record changes in registered interest in Crown petroleum and natural gas, oil sands and coal and other mineral agreements. Transfers will be initiated on an internet-based system, which enables industry to agree to the transfer on-line and submit the approved form to DOE. The turn-around time will be reduced by approximately 75 per cent. Partial land transfers are not part of this system at this time.

Phase Two: e-Postings - Implemented March 30, 2005

e-Postings was successfully implemented March 30, 2005. All postings for oil sands and petroleum and natural gas, as well as direct purchase request for both, are now being done through e-Postings. e-Postings is a secure web-based system built on the Electronic Transfer System (ETS) site. It is accessed through the Energy homepage, at http://www.energy.gov.ab.ca/.

Phase Three: e-Bidding - Implemented for June 28, 2006 sale

e-Bidding was implemented on May 3, 2006 for the June 28, 2006 public offering of oil sands (OS) and petroleum and natural gas (P&NG) rights.  e-Bidding streamlines business processes by replacing the manual submission of bid letters to the department's Calgary office on sale day.  e-Bidding enables clients to acquire OS and P&NG rights through an electronic bidding process.

Are there any other e-Tenure initiatives being considered?

Depending on the success of the current three phases of e-Tenure, other tenure processes that might be converted to on-line applications are continuations and offset applications, serving notices, and electronic agreement documents.

E-Tenure Key Milestones and Events Timeline

Contact: