Victoria reported the third best calendar year in natural gas and oil rights sales following a strong December rights sale.
The province raised $172.3 million in December from the sale of 98 parcels of land in northeast B.C., raising the 2009 total to $893 million.
While far from 2008's $2.7 billion worth of natural gas and rights sales, it's close to the $1 billion in natural gas and oil rights sold in 2007.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers report suggested that the government's stimulus package for B.C.'s oil and gas industry has helped bolster the sector during the recession.
In August, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources announced a one-year royalty fee relief program, reducing the royalty fees companies would need to pay to drill new natural gas wells in B.C.
The PwC study suggested the stimulus plan prevented a 19% decline in natural gas investment in the province in 2010. Since the plan was introduced, companies surveyed said they plan to increase their investment to $2.1 billion from the $1.5 billion planned prior to the stimulus package announcement.
Companies also plan to increase the number of wells to be drilled because of the royalty relief program.
The study suggested before the stimulus package was introduced, respondents planned to drill 28% fewer wells in 2010 compared with 2009. But with the plan, companies now plan to increase the number of wells next year by 13% from 2009 levels.