Land Analyst

Government of Alberta•Edmonton, AB

3d•CA$60,241 - CA$76,224•Onsite

About The Position

The Alberta Public Service works to build a stronger province for current and future generations. We make a difference in the lives of Albertans through rewarding and diverse career opportunities. The Ministry of Energy and Minerals is responsible for sustaining the interests of Albertans through the stewardship and responsible development of energy and mineral re-source and pore space systems. The Petroleum and Natural Gas (PNG) Tenure Operations Branch plays a key role in the development of the petroleum and natural gas, geothermal and pore space resources in Alberta. The branch leases petroleum and natural gas rights (PNG), geothermal and pore space rights owned by the Province of Alberta to oil and gas companies so that they can explore for and develop these resources. The branch’s business is complex and highly confidential; decisions made have an immediate and direct impact on industry and the energy sector in Alberta. The PNG Tenure Branch is looking to fill several positions within various units across the Branch: Continuation and Validation and Agreement Administration Units, manages key processes related to the renewal, amendment, cancellation, financial responsibilities and encumbrance of crown mineral leases and licences. Crown Equity Unit manages several tenure-related functions, including well administration, freehold well-to-title ties, unit agreement management, offset obligations, Crown Mineral Activity authorizations, and the assessment of mineral trespass matters. Sales and Crown Land Data Unit is responsible for the leasing of Crown mineral rights to industry, enabling companies to explore and develop Alberta's petroleum and natural gas and geothermal resources. The unit also supports Alberta-registered companies by managing corporate registration and access to external facing business systems such as the Electronic Transfer System (ETS) and Petrinex.

Requirements

Minimum two-year diploma in either Land Administration / Petroleum Land Administration, Legal Administration, or Business Administration and minimum one year progressively responsible related experience.
Related experience may include interpreting and applying legislation; client service/business administration in the Energy sector; and/or land and geological experience.
Demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication to efficiently work with Alberta’s energy industry, department’s legal services division, the Alberta Energy Regulator and Auditor General staff and accurately draft correspondence to the industry sector in response to submitted inquiries or applications.
Analytical skills to assess options and risk implications
Demonstrate good judgment and creative approaches to problem-solving and decision-making.
Ability to interpret and apply appropriate legislation and policy directives to routine / non-routine situations.
Strong analytical skills to decipher information on maps, reports and geological notations.
Strong networking and relationship-building skills.
Proven high integrity to maintain confidential information and manage multiple financial transactions.
Proficient knowledge and ability to use Excel for creating statistical analysis used by the Branch in various reporting documents and performing calculations.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with the Mines and Minerals Act, PNG Tenure Regulation, Mines and Minerals Administration Regulation and other related legislation.
Hands-on experience using systems such as AMI, LAMAS, ETS, Petrinex, SPIN2, and GeoScout to manage mineral rights and land data.
Ability to interpret technical maps, well data, and geological formations to support decision-making and approvals, as well as accuracy in mathematical calculations.
Strong Excel skills, Power BI.

Responsibilities

Administers the posting and sale of Alberta’s crown mineral resources, along with the issuance of geothermal and pore space agreements.
Research and interpret complex legal, corporate, and Alberta Court of Kings Bench court documents to process corporate status changes, including revivals, dissolutions, amalgamations, continuances, name changes, bankruptcies, and receiverships.
Works with Alberta Court of Kings Bench, appointed Insolvency Managers/Monitors, in conjunction with Energy’s Legal Services team to co-manage an insolvent company’s assets.
Administers the registration, amendment and discharge of builders' liens and security notices against Crown mineral agreements
Ensures that all debts associated with all aspects of the tenure administrative processes are collected
Serves notices of corporate ineligibility to companies, who have lost their corporate registration and are therefore, no longer eligible to do business in Alberta and therefore, with the department.
Review and process continuation and validation applications. Continue, cancel and amend mineral agreements.
Process the surrender of mineral agreements no longer required by industry.
Issue notices of non-productivity under the appropriate legislation.
Well administration reviews and assesses well licence data and associates the well to the mineral agreement, referring wells without coverage to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) compliance team. Reviews productive well data to assign the ownership splits between Crown and freehold, used to assess appropriate royalty and tax assessments. Additionally, well administration issues well declaration packages on lease expiries and manages responses referring wells being elected or otherwise needing abandonment, to the AER’s resource compliance group.
Administers and negotiates unitization contracts, in which multiple leases are combined for development purposes.
Reviews business case, technical advice and policy to grant Crown mineral activity authorizations in support of Alberta Energy Sector resource development.
Reviews freehold wells with offsetting Crown zones to evaluate drainage of Crown rights. Serves offset notices obligating the Crown lessee to elect; drill and produce, pay compensation in lieu of drilling a well, surrender leased lands/rights, unitize the rights, or prove non-drainage. Manages a monthly billing cycle for the compensation.
Reviews and assesses trespass against the Crown, collecting penalties and damages for unauthorized activities. Supports industry through email and telephone help desk.
Compiles and provides statistics to the team lead to support the day-to-day operations of the unit.
Registration of all companies wishing to do business with the Alberta Energy and Minerals for both the Electronic Transfer and Petrinex systems.
The Land Analyst administers PNG, Pore Space and Geothermal agreements using the applicable legislation, following department policy and procedures.
They will provide analytical advice and expertise for the review and analysis of agreements processed by the unit.
The Land Analyst will also process select financial transactions relating to such agreements.
These position(s) are also responsible for making decisions that have a direct impact Albertas Oil and Gas industry sector and their development of oil and gas resources within the province of Alberta.
The primary responsibility is to review, analyze and respond to industry requests and process applications using their analytical skills and knowledge.
When initiating or recommending changes, you will be required to interpret and apply various legislation and regulations.
You must also have a comprehensive understanding of legal documents relating to land, mineral rights, and agreements.
You will interpret and amend agreements and analyze and resolve agreement related queries brought forward by Alberta’s energy sector and other departmental staff.