More drilling going on near Lloydminster than there has been in years

By Brian Zinchuk

ESTEVAN – With the Lloydminster Heavy Oil Show coming up next week on Sept. 11-12, it’s apt to point out there’s more drilling activity happening just outside of Lloyd than there has been in many years.

According to RiggerTalk.com, which posts data from the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors, there were five rigs working just east of Lloydminster, a cluster not seen since the heyday of CHOPS drilling. For much of the past decade, most drilling activity has been spread throughout northwest Saskatchewan at SAGD pad sites. This new drilling is quite the change from that.

In total, 38 rigs were drilling in Saskatchewan on Tuesday, Sept. 3. One of those was drilling for lithium, one for helium, and the remainder for oil.

Panther Drilling punching a hole near Hallbrite for Whitecap Resources on Aug. 27. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Just south of Lloydminster, Baytex Energy Ltd. had one rig drilling. To the southeast, Croverro Energy Ltd. had one rig, Rife Resources had another along Highway 16, and Cenovus Energy Inc. had two north of Marshall. That’s five drilling within eight miles of the Cenovus Upgrader.

Cenovus had another rig at Celtic, one north of Maidstone, one at Vawn and two at Spruce Lake. Canadian Natural Resources had one rig at Rush Lake, while Strathcona Resources had one rig at Vawn. Longshore Resources had one rig north of Macklin. That makes for a total of 13 rigs in northwest Saskatchewan, some of the best numbers seen in that region in a long time.

That’s a total of seven rigs drilling for Cenovus, by far the leader.

There were eight rigs drilling in west central Saskatchewan. Teine Energy had one rig at Smiley, another south of Plenty and a third at Plato. Baytex had one between Kindersley and Dodsland, and Whitecap Resources had one of its rigs in the same area. Whitecap had another rig between Elrose and Kyle in an area that hasn’t seen a lot of activity in recent years. Saturn Oil & Gas had one rig between Elrose and Plato.

There were only two rigs working in southeast Saskatchewan. Veren Inc. had one rig north of Frontier, the only rig drilling for oil in the region. This is notable as there has been zero oil land sales in this region the entire year of 2024.

North American Helium had one rig southwest of Mankota.

There were 15 rigs drilling in southeast Saskatchewan. Saturn had one rig on the two-mile road, due south of Bromhead. This is notable as Saturn closed its purchase of the area from Crescent Point, now Veren, earlier this year. Crescent Point had drilled its last well in the Torquay area about this time last year.

Arizona Lithium (listed as Prairie Lithium) was drilling southwest of Torquay.

Southeast of Estevan, Tundra Oil & Gas had one rig working two miles from the border in an aera that hasn’t seen much action of late.

Whitecap Resources is continuing its program of multiple wells within spitting distance of Halbrite, with one rig working there.

A cluster of four rigs were working close to Lampman. Whitecap had one north of Lampman and another closer to Browning. Just south of Lampman, Hummingbird Oil and Surge Energy each had a rig within a stone’s throw of each other.

A cluster of three rigs was working near Warmley, two for Veren and one for Cache Island Corp.

At Alameda, Vermilion Energy Inc. had one rig drilling. Burgess Creek Exploration had one rig drilling at Bellegarde.

Saturn had another rig drilling between Manor and Carlyle.

Aldon Oils, which turns 50 this year and is celebrating that event this weekend, had a rig just outside of Manor.