BRIAN ZINCHUK SE SASK Rig Report on Feb 14 2018
Saskatchewan’s active drilling rig count has remained flat but relatively high through much of January and the first half of February. The first quarter of the year, up until March 15, is usually the busiest drilling time of the year.
By Jan. 18 the rig count, according to sister publication Rig Locator (riglocator.ca), hit 70 and has fluctuated at or a little above that point for the next four weeks, frequently bumping up to 73. On Feb. 14 the count was 71 active rigs, with 42 down. That makes for a 63 per cent utilization rate, significantly higher than the other four western provinces.
Those rig numbers are substantially lower than the 100 to 110 Saskatchewan typically saw during the same time of year during the recent oil boom, but it’s an improvement from 2017’s numbers and substantially higher than 2016 numbers.
The strength of that number has been, to a large extent, based on Crescent Point Energy Corp. Saskatchewan’s largest oil producer. It had 29 rigs working in Canada, with one in the Swan Hills region of Alberta and a second in the Manson area of Manitoba, north of Kirkella. The remaining 27 rigs were making hole in the Land of Living Skies.
Their largest concentration was nine rigs working in an area slightly larger than a township, southeast of Torquay. Another eight rigs were spread out in southeast Saskatchewan. That meant one rig each at Bromhead, Hitchcock, Alameda, Browning, Kisbey, Viewfield, Innes, and Corning.
One noteable rig was drilling west of Radville. This was in the general area of the company’s Lodgepole play, announced last October. At the time the company picked up roughly 500 square miles of land under exploratory licences.
A cluster of four rigs was working southeast of Eastend, in the Rapdan/Whitemud/Eastbrook area. Another cluster could be found in close proximity to Shaunavon. Their last two rigs were at Dodsland and Plato.
In southeast Saskatchewan, Spartan Energy Corp was busy with four rigs in the southeast. One was at Cantal, another at Pinto, a third at Queensday and the fourth was at Oungre.
Other operators drilling in southeast Saskatchewan include Ridgeback Resources Inc., with one rig at Coyote Lake, northeast of Stoughton. Astra Oil Corp. had a rig working near Lampman. Burgess Creek Exploration had one rig at Benson. Nearby, Fire Sky Energy Inc. had one rig at Macound.
Steppe Petroleum Inc. had one rig at Tableland. Torc Oil & Gast had one rig each at Torquay and Steelman. Ventura Resources had one rig at Carnduff. At Northgate, Vermillion Energy Inc. had one rig.
NAL Resources had one rig at Nottingham and a second at Dodsland.
