In light of the recent drilling forecast from the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), president Mark Salkeld said there is good potential for the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan, with the province predicted to outpace the amount of drilling expected in Alberta in 2017.
In SK 3, a region that PSAC evaluates that includes Estevan and Weyburn, the forecasted number of wells in the area for 2017 is between 300 and 350 wells. Salkeld stated that this strong forecast for southern Saskatchewan—particularly the southern area of which Estevan is a part—is going to be a boon to the economy, with plenty of drilling activity going on in the Estevan and Weyburn area, specifically.
“We realized that our numbers are showing there is more activity going on in southern Saskatchewan for drilling and completion than there is in Alberta,” said Salkeld in a phone call with the Mercury. “We found some interesting things, and talked to some member companies down there. We chatted with people like Ray Frehlick with Prairie Mud, and talked about the on-the-ground implications, and it could be interesting.”
Salkeld said that one advantage Saskatchewan has is the fact that top-performing companies in the area have developed what he calls “a more cookie-cutter-like process,” drilling and completing wells. This also entails wells that have become shallower over the years and are easier to set up and decommission.
“We realized there was more drilling going on, we looked at the numbers, and they showed us that the wells have gotten shallower by almost 24 per cent,” said Salkeld. “They are only three quarters of the length they were back in 2014, in different areas in Saskatchewan.”
Salkeld said that wells in Saskatchewan range between 700 and 2,000 metres and that the provincial average spud to release date is five days.
“It works out really well. It’s rigging up, drilling and completing, and putting wells into production as quickly as possible. It’s shallower formations, so it’s a ‘getting cash sooner’ sort of thing,” said Salkeld.
He added although Alberta is very efficient in its own right, as far as drilling is concerned, they are dealing with deeper formations, which take more time to drill.
“It’s hard to say whether it will be a two year strategy to get some production going sooner rather than later, or if they’re going to go back to longer, deeper wells,” he said. “What we’re seeing is that, currently, you guys are busy. It’s busy in Saskatchewan, and we expect it to be more so in 2017.”
