Forecast boosts expected Canadian drilling
Posted Jan 31, 2011 9:03 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There’s going to be more oil and gas rigs at work in Canada this year.
That’s according to a revised forecast from the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.
It expects 12,750 wells to be drilled through to rig release in 2011.
That comes out to a nationwide gain of 500 more wells than originally predicted.
Along with technology that allows companies to get at reserves that couldn’t be recovered previously, rising global oil prices are getting much of the credit for the boost in drilling activity, which certainly helps Alberta oil companies.
But PSAC President Mark Salkeld tells 660News natural gas producers aren’t going to enjoy the full benefits of the uptick yet.
‘We need to look for ways to elevate the price of gas, at least locally,” he says. “That’s through fleet services or [liquefied natural gas] where we can drill for gas, get it to market and expose ourselves to better pricing.”
Salkeld says the increased activity should be enough to keep plenty of people, most notably rig workers, collecting a pay cheque.
With 8,390 wells projected for 2011, Alberta is expected to drill the most wells out of any province by far.
But the province’s projected drilling growth rate of three per cent lags behind BC’s projected seven per cent drilling growth rate and Saskatchewan’s predicted 11 per cent drilling growth rate.
