Saskatchewan Petroleum Innovation Incentive (SPII)
$5,000,000
Tax Credit
Description:
The Saskatchewan Petroleum Innovation Incentive (SPII) offers transferable Crown royalty and freehold production tax credits for qualified innovation commercialization projects at a rate of 25 per cent of eligible project costs. The program targets a broad range of innovations deployed across all segments of Saskatchewan’s oil and gas industry.
The SPII program is open to both pilot projects and commercial scaling projects – giving applicants the ability to test their innovations in a pilot setting then deploy them at larger commercial scales. In addition, projects executed on multiple sites and projects that include multiple phases may be considered eligible for the program under a single project application.
SPII is administered by the Ministry of Energy and Resources.
Comments on Funding:
SPII has a project-specific awarded credit cap of CAD$5 million (i.e. a maximum of up to CAD$20 million in recognized eligible costs per project).
Eligible projects:
a) must involve a minimum of CAD$1 million in eligible capital and operating costs.
b) have the ability to redeem 25% of their eligible capital and operating costs. These credit redemptions can even occur during the construction and operational phases of a project to help improve a company’s cash flow.
Continuous Intake until March 31, 2029
Eligibility:
Applicants must:
1. be companies;
2. have innovation commercialization projects cross all segments of Saskatchewan’s oil, gas, helium or lithium industry;
3. have pilot projects and commercial scaling projects testing their innovations in a pilot setting then deploy them at larger commercial scales;
4. have innovations assessed at a minimum of Level 7 on the SPII Technology Readiness Level Scale that meet these criteria:
a) The project can clearly be demonstrated to be new to Saskatchewan’s oil, gas, helium or lithium industry;
b) The eligible project can be clearly demonstrated to be at a new and significantly different commercial scale that has no technical equivalent in Saskatchewan’s oil, gas, helium or lithium industry.
5. have projects that involve a minimum of CAD$1 million in eligible capital and operating costs;
6. have projects that are not be commercially operational prior to submitting an application to the Ministry of Energy and Resources.
Eligible projects:
a) must involve a minimum of CAD$1 million in eligible capital and operating costs.
b) have the ability to redeem 25% of their eligible capital and operating costs. These credit redemptions can even occur during the construction and operational phases of a project to help improve a company’s cash flow.
Application Steps:
Applicants must:
1. Download the SPII Application Form from the SPII website.
2. E-mail the completed form and any supporting documents to the Ministry of Energy and Resources at spii@gov.sk.ca.
3. The Ministry of Energy and Resources will confirm receipt of the completed application form or indicate the form
as being incomplete by e-mailing the address provided in the Application Form’s Section 1: Contact Person
Information.
4. The Ministry of Energy and Resources will process the completed application form and assess the proposed project
against the eligibility requirements established in The Petroleum Innovation Incentive Regulations.
5. Once the application assessment has concluded, successful applicants will receive a Letter of Conditional Approval
to the SPII program via e-mail to the address provided in the Application Form’s Section 1: Contact Person
Information.
6. Following conditional approval, and once construction is imminent, the applicant and the Ministry of Energy and
Resources will enter into a formal agreement. The agreement will detail the proposed project’s description and
operational plan, an itemized listing of eligible costs, construction/operational timelines, other relevant parties
participating in the project, and other similar information. For the purposes of improving a third party’s ability to
audit eligible costs, it is recommended that the applicant’s auditor be engaged during the agreement drafting
phase.
7. After an agreement is finalized, the credits are earmarked, and the applicant will execute the proposed project in
accordance with the parameters outlined in the agreement.
Documentation Needed:
Applicants must submit:
1. a completed SPII Application Form;
2. additional information, as requested.
Other Things to Note:
The project must not be commercially operational prior to submitting an application to the Ministry of Energy and Resources.
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Maurice