Weak drilling numbers forcing analysts to change forecasts
Posted Aug 30, 2016 2:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was not a good year for oil drillers, who were dragged down by continued production cuts, and the picture doesn’t get any better as we look ahead to the fall and winter.
Because of this, a number of organizations will be out with revised forecasts in the coming weeks.
Mark Scholz, President of the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors, says this summer saw some of the lowest rig counts on record. But the hope is that the supply-demand ratio will come to some sort of balance by the end of the year.
“That may, may not happen, so we’re all preparing for what has been a very difficult couple of years and real uncertainty as to how long we’re going to be in this situation,” he said.
He adds, the forecast will be even less optimistic than some of their own revisions.
“We have to make sure we have a competitive jurisdiction to do business, and certainly it’s very unclear as to what sort of impact a lot of these public policy changes are going to have in the long-term future.”
The bottom line, explains Scholz, is that this is the way it’s going to be until there is some price certainty.
