TABJ - July 6 - The long-awaited re-emergence of major energy players in the central Mackenzie Valley, northern Canada, is upon us; and Huskey Energy’s tremendous 70 per cent permit win of the C$534-million land sale, gathering an array of oil and gas exploration opportunities, signals that the big hitters are back with a vengeance.

During the auction of drilling rights over the massive land spread—carried out by the governmental Oil and Gas Management Directorate— Huskey stumped up C$376 million for two attractive packages in the Northwest Territories, however the group has not—yet—reported much about its intentions to press.

Other winners include ConocoPhillips ($67 million) and Exxon Mobil Corp. ($43 million) and junior explorer MGM Energy Corp (a spend of $5 million).