Resource Summary

This section provides information on the Ministry's budget and full-time equivalent staff (FTE) allocation, and provides high level overviews of its information technology resource plan, and human resources plan. The Resource Expenditure Summary reflects the allocation of FTEs and program budgets.

Additional Explanatory Notes on the Resource Summary

Oil and Gas

In October 2003, the Ministry received approval for the Oil and Gas Development Strategy for the Heartlands II (OGDS II) which provided $5.5 million in funding for 2003/04 and 27 new FTEs for revenue enhancing projects. For 2004/05, an additional $1.3 million has been added to the 2003/04 allocation of $5.5 million for OGDS II. OGDS II funding is conditional upon incremental revenue targets being achieved.

Mining and Minerals

The Mining and Minerals budget is reduced by a planned amount based on Core Review decisions that were first implemented in 2002/03.

Note that the entire $2.083 million budget for the Titles Division has been included in the operating expenses of the Mining and Minerals Core Business. However, the actual allocation of expenditure within the Titles Division is $1.208 million for oil and gas core business functions and $0.875 million for mining and minerals core business functions.

Electricity and Alternative Energy

The Electricity and Alternative Energy Division budget is reduced by the one-time $1 million funding provided to implement elements of the Energy Plan in 2003/04, including the establishment of the British Columbia Transmission Corporation.

Contracts and Funding Arrangements

The Contracts and Funding Arrangements category includes significant expenditures associated with the Columbia Basin Trust, Resource Revenue Sharing Agreements and the Vancouver Island Gas Pipeline Agreement, which are outside of the Ministry's core businesses and do not have performance targets associated with them. This is because these expenditures are made in accordance with agreements that are largely outside the Ministry's control and influence. For instance, $2 million is paid in accordance with an agreement with the Columbia Basin Trust to assist it with operating costs. Resource Revenue Sharing payments are made to First Nations to share revenue received from petroleum, natural gas and mineral extraction under a federal/provincial agreement and agreements with First Nations.

Payments to Terasen Gas Inc. for the Vancouver Island Natural Gas Pipeline (VIGAS) are made to satisfy the requirements of the VIGAS Agreement. They constitute the largest item in the Contracts and Funding Arrangements category and for 2004/05 are budgeted at $24.06 million.