Sask drilling rig report: Rigs working on oil, potash, helium and lithium

By Brian Zinchuk

The drilling rig report for Oct. 28 demonstrated the growing variety of resources been accessed through the drill bit. Out of the 37 rigs punching holes across Saskatchewan, 32 were drilling for oil, three for potash, one for helium and one for lithium.

That’s according to RiggerTalk.com, which publishes data from the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC).

(Potash development continually employs drilling rigs, but they usually do not show up on the drilling rig data.)

Savanna Drilling Rig 606 drilling for Arizona Lithium north of Tribune on Oct. 21. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Starting in northwest Saskatchewan, there were 11 drilling rigs making hole.

Cenovus was by far the most active, not only in the area, but across the province, with eight rigs working. Two were side-by-side, Akita Drilling Rig 8 and Precision Drilling (PD) Rig 17, just south of Edam. Eight kilometres east of Maidstone right along Highway 16 was Akita Rig 6. About 20 kilometres northwest of Maidstone, PD Rig 195 was turning to the right. Ensign Drilling Rig 533 was drilling at Marie Hill, south of Tangleflags.  PD Rig 150 was at Tangleflags. PD Rig 198 was west of Celtic. PD Rig 146 was due east of Lloydminster and north of Marshall.

In the middle of all those Cenovus rigs, Baytex Energy Ltd. had PD Rig 155 drilling west of Pikes Peak.

Rife Resources employed PD Rig 184 at Carruthers. A company previously unknown to Pipeline Online, Pentacor Energy, was drilling south of Waseca with Ensign Rig 361.

West Central Saskatchewan saw very few rigs working compared to usual, with just four rigs in the region. Longshore Resources had Tempco Drilling Company Inc. Rig 3 drilling within spitting distance of the Alberta border, north of Macklin. South of Macklin, Strathcona Resources had Bonanza Drilling Rig 1 working. South of Wilkie, an area that’s seen very little activity for many years, Savanna Drilling Rig 425 was drilling for Cardinal. That’s a long way from Cardinal’s usual stomping grounds north of Midale.

Teine Energy was drilling with Ensign Rig 537 northeast of Eston.

In central Saskatchewan, Akita Rig 35 was drilling near Lanigan for Nutrien. Rio Tinto Exploration had Ensign Rig 351 drilling west of Chamberlain.

In southwest Saskatchewan, there were three rigs drilling Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. was drilling south of Gull Lake on land it recently acquired from Veren. Near Shaunavon, Veren employed Savanna Rig 416.

South of Mankota, North American Helium had Savanna Rig 629 drilling.

In southeast Saskatchewan, 17 rigs were drilling – one for lithium and one for potash. Just north of Tribune, Arizona Lithium was drilling on its third pad with Savanna Rig 606. South of Esterhazy, the record shows Stampede Drilling Rig 22 working for Nutrien.

Saturn had Ensign Rig 421 drilling south of Torquay and Stampede Rig 1 at Manor.

Harvard Resources employed Horizon Drilling Rig 29 south of Weyburn.

Whitecap Resources Inc. had three rigs drilling. Panther Drilling Rig 2 was just outside of Halbrite. Ensign Rig 423 was north of Browning. Stampede Rig 17 was east of Lampman.

Veren had two rigs drilling, Savanna Rig 419 north of Midale, and Stampede Rig 7 southeast of Corning.

The Lampman area saw its usual cluster of rigs. In addition to the aforementioned Whitecap rigs, Burgess Creek Exploration had Betts Drilling Rig 4 drilling west of Lampman. Just a few miles north of that rig, Betts Rig 2 was drilling for Aldon Oils. Over at Steelman, Tundra Oil & Gas had Stampede Rig 4 making hole.

Woodland Development Corp. had Stampede Rig 3 drilling west of Bekevar.

At Northgate, Panther Rig 3 was drilling for Vermilion Energy Inc. South of Glen Ewen, Villanova Energy Inc. had Betts Rig 1 drilling. Northeast of Alameda, ROK Resources Inc employed Stampede Rig 8.