Drilling activity picks up in all areas of Saskatchewan in early June

BY BRIAN ZINCHUK

ESTEVAN – On May 30, two Stampede Drilling rigs could be seen in Lampman getting prepped to move the next day, going to work at Beaubier and Corning. The scene was indicative of what’s going on across Saskatchewan, as drilling activity has picked up in all areas of the province.

According to RiggerTalk.com, which publishes data from the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors, there were 28 rigs either drilling or moving in Saskatchewan on Tuesday, June 6. All areas were seeing activity, although it was reduced in southwest and northwest Saskatchewan. West central Saskatchewan was particularly busy, while southeast Saskatchewan saw moderate levels of activity.

Stampede Drilling Rig 17 had its derrick up earlier in the day, preparing for a move on June 1.

Starting in northwest Saskatchewan, there were two rigs working. Canadian Natural Resources Limited had one rig just north of Maidstone. Strathcona Resources Ltd. had one rig east of Prince, north of North Battleford.

Moving to west central Saskatchewan, there’s something you don’t see very often. Precision Drilling Rig 275, which has spent most of its career working in the Weyburn Unit, is shown on the outskirts of Unity, at the Secure Energy Unity cavern facility. The hole is listed as “oil.”

At Cactus Lake, Stathcona has one rig going. South of Kerrobert, Teine Energy has one rig on Highway 31 and another eight miles south of the first.

Directly across the road from Dodsland, Whitecap Resources Inc. has one rig making hole.

The Viking play appears to be moving eastward, as there’s a cluster of three rigs south of Stranraer. There’s one rig each for Whitecap, Teine and Baytex Energy. Baytex has another rig northwest of Kindersley.

Novus energy had one rig northwest of Marengo. Lycos Energy had a rig west of Hoosier. Notably, it was Stampede Rig 22, showing Stampede’s broader reach in recent years beyond its usual stomping grounds in the southeast.

Teine had one right at Bickleigh, north of Plato, and Whitecap had a rig about midway between Elrose and Kyle.

Shifting to southwest Saskatchewan, there were just two rigs working. Potts had one rig drilling near Hazlet. North American Helium showed the widening of the helium play, with a rig just northeast of Ponteix.

In southeast Saskatchewan, that aforementioned Beaubeir rig was drilling for Crescent Point Energy Corp. North of Midale, Cardinal Energy had a rig punching holes in the Midale Unit. Tundra Oil & Gas Ltd. had a rig drilling near the coal mines, south of Roche Percee.

Lampman again had a cluster of three rigs working north of town. Two were for Whitecap, but the third was not specified.

North of Oxbow, Anova Resources Inc was drilling. South of Oxbow, Surge Energy Inc. had one rig. Near Glen Ewen, Adonai Resources II Corporation had one rig.

Axial Exploration had a rig drilling south of Carlyle. Burgess Creek Exploration Inc. had one rig northwest of Storthoaks.

Finally, Crescent Point had two rigs working north of Warmley. With three rigs drilling in Saskatchewan, this is a substantial decline from the days when Crescent Point was routinely operating over 20 rigs in this province.