When the largest oil company in the province, and typically the most active driller in the country, shuts down most of its rigs, it has a substantial impact on the active drilling rig count.
That’s exactly what happened in November, as Crescent Point Energy pulled in its horns and dropped its rig numbers from around a dozen to just four rigs in the province, two in southeast Saskatchewan, and two in west-central Saskatchewan.
According to sister publication Rig Locator (www.riglocator.ca) on Nov. 15, Crescent Point had Horizon Drilling Rig 27 working at Stoughton, and Ensign Drilling Inc. Rig 650 working near Oungre. On the other side of the province, Savanna Drilling Rigs 420 and 436 were working side-by-side near Dodsland.
Throughout much of the downturn, Crescent Point had lead the entire country in drilling rigs employed, having at times as many as 27 active rigs at once, more than the Number 2 and 3 drillers combined.
Savanna Drilling Canada had, by far, the most rigs working, with eight out of the total 30 rigs working in the province. Horizon Drilling and Ensign Drilling Inc. each had four rigs, a tie for Number 2 spot.
In southeast Saskatchewan, Spartan Energy Corp. had Horizon Drilling Rig 29 right beside Oungre. Also in that area, Panther Drilling Rig 2 was working for NAL Resources Ltd.
Panther Rig 4 was working for Spartan south of Oxbow. Near Frobisher, Stampede Drilling Rig 2 was drilling for Astra Oil Corp.
The Lampman area, which had seen something of a surge of drilling in recent months, was down to two rigs, with Trinidad Drilling Ltd. rig 427 in its regular stomping grounds east of the community, drilling for Torc Oil & Gas Ltd., and D2. Drilling Inc. working for Hummingbird Energy Inc. west-southwest of the community.
Precision Drilling Rig 156 was working for Ridgeback Resources in the Handsworth area, northeast of Stoughton.
Drilling in southwest Saskatchewan, typically dominated by Crescent Point, has all but come to a stop. Whereas Crescent Point often employs three to four rigs in the area, and Surge Energy one more, all were racked. One new player in the area, Vital Energy Inc., was drilling at Battrum, southeast of Cabri, with Savanna Rig 419.
In the Elrose area, Savanna Rig 425 was working for Raging River Exploration Inc., while Precision Drilling Rig 188 was working for NAL Resources.
East of Kindersley Raging River had two more rigs working, side-by-side. They were Savanna Rig 441 and Predator Drilling Inc. Rig 7.
Saturn Oil & Gas Inc., which had made headlines in recent years drilling south of Hudson Bay, Sask. has now focussed its attention on the Flaxcombe area, west of Kindersley. There it employed Precision Drilling Rig 157.
North of there, at Prairiedale, Ish Energy Ltd. had Horizon Drilling Rig 61 working.
Another Horizon Rig, Rig 18, was drilling for Sphere Energy Corp. at Cactus Lake. Two more Savanna rigs were working in the area, Rig 311 for Cona Resources at Cactus Lake, and Rig 431 at Cosine, for Caltex Resources.
North of Macklin, Rifle Shot Oil Corp. is taking another shot at drilling, as it were, with Tempco Drilling Company Inc. working for them.
Cona had another rig working for them in the region, with Savanna Rig 418 working at Winter.
Southeast of Lashburn, Rife Resources Ltd. had Ensign Drilling Inc. Rig 537 making hole.
Furthest north, Ensign Rig 350 was drilling at Onion Lake for BlackPearl Resources.
Husky Energy has picked up its drilling game, now with three rigs in the province, of ten across the country. That makes Husky the fourth most active driller in the country, putting it on the national leader board where it had regularly occupied a place during the boom years.
Husky’s trio of rigs were working at Spruce Lake, with Akita Drilling Ltd. Rig 6; Belliveau Lake, Akita Rig 8; and Precision Drilling Rig 197 at Rush Lake.
An area that hasn’t seen much attention in a while, Meota, south of Jackfish Lake, saw Serafina Energy Ltd. resume drilling with Akita Rig 30.
