The Yukon's oil and gas industry is suddenly seeing signs of growth, as more companies are showing interest in energy exploration in the territory.

This month, the territorial government is awarding Calgary-based Northern Cross Energy Ltd. 13 oil and gas exploration permits at sites in northern Yukon.

That's more than double the number of the territory's existing permits, said Deb Wortley of the government's oil and gas management branch.

The permits to Northern Cross are the first the Yukon has handed out since 2002 — and even then, only one permit was awarded that year, Wortley said.

"It's really big," she said. "This is more interest from the oil and gas industry than we've ever had in the Yukon before."

Northern Cross has agreed to spend $20 million drilling for gas and oil in the Eagle Plains area, but Wortley said whether the company will find anything is anyone's guess.

"We'd love to see more exploration and definitely production," she said. "But what's actually going to happen, you'd need a crystal ball."

The government met with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation before handing out the permits to Northern Cross, Wortley said, adding that it followed draft recommendations outlined in the proposed north Yukon land use plan.

But while Vuntut Gwitchin Liberal MLA Darius Elias said it's good the government is following the proposed plan's recommendations, he said he wants the government to adopt the plan, which has been 10 years in the making.

"It gives us another level of certainty for the residents of north Yukon and Yukoners in general," Elias said. "It says what can and can't happen on the land, on the landscape."

The government says it plans to make the land use plan available for public comment soon.

In the meantime, interest in oil and gas exploration isn't limited to one company. A number of oil companies have recently expressed interest in a total of 25 sites around the Yukon.