Crew Energy Inc. completed the exchange of Montney petroleum and natural gas rights with British Columbia, the company said July 22. The land is in the province’s northeast.

Crew now has rights in 53 net sections of land contiguous to its Groundbirch property. Crew exchanged 66 net sections of undeveloped land in the Peace Moberly Tract (PMT) in northeast British Columbia.

The new acreage is in an area that has generated positive results in the Upper and Lower Montney. There is access to existing and future infrastructure including Crew's planned gas processing facility at Groundbirch, the TCPL Nova NW mainline at Saturn, and the proposed TCPL North Montney Pipeline project.

Since 2004, development on petroleum and natural gas tenure rights within the PMT has been restricted, and no tenure rights have been made available through the Crown disposition process due to ongoing discussions between the province and local First Nations.

Crew assembled a land position in the PMT in 2008 after several strategic Montney-focused land acquisitions between 2008 and 2014. Recently the company entered discussions with the province regarding a potential solution for access to these lands, or for an acreage exchange.

Dale Shwed, Crew’s president and CEO, said the exchange adds 53 net sections to the Groundbirch area land base.

Crew Energy Inc. is based in Calgary, Alberta.