According to numbers reported by sister publication Rig Locator (www.riglocator.ca), drilling rig activity remained relatively flat during the second week of July.
As of July 14 there were 47 active drilling rigs in Saskatchewan. This includes 21 rigs working in southeast Saskatchewan, 20 in southwest Saskatchewan (south of Kerrobert, west of Moose Jaw), and the remaining six in northwest Saskatchewan.
The bulk of the work was being done by larger drilling firms. While Saskatchewan, particularly southeast Saskatchewan, has a number of smaller drilling contractors, nearly all their rigs were parked. Four of those contractors, Alliance Drilling, Betts Drilling, Red Dog Drilling and Vortex Drilling had one rig working each, while Stampede Drilling had two of its three rigs working. Panther Drilling, Crusader Drilling, Lasso Drilling, D2 Drilling did not show up on Rig Locators’ numbers, although those numbers are not always precise and occasionally a few rigs don’t show up from time to time.
In comparison, Precision Drilling had eight of its 15 Saskatchewan rigs working, and Trinidad Drilling had five of its 13 Saskatchewan rigs active. Horizon Drilling had seven of its eight Saskatchewan rigs drilling.
As usual, Crescent Point Energy Corp. led the nation in the number of active drilling rigs, with 17 working across the country, all but one in Saskatchewan.
In southeast Saskatchewan, 10 different drilling contractors were working for nine different operators. Crescent Point led the way, with 11 rigs working. That included Vortex Drilling Rig 2, Precision Drilling Rig 146 and Alliance Drilling and Oilfield Service Ltd. Rig 5 at Viewfield. Red Dog Drilling Inc. Rig 4 was at Glen Ewen. Precision Drilling Rig 195 was at Forget. Horizon Drilling had Rig 33 at Oungre and Rig 34 at Handsworth. Ensign Drilling had Rig 360 at Roche Percee and Rig 650 and Oungre. Trinidad Drilling Rig 423 was also at Oungre and Rig 421 nearby at Bromhead.
Red River Oil was working right beside the Manitoba border at Ryerson, employing Precision Drilling Rig 156. Ridgeback Resources Inc. had Stampede Drilling Ltd. Rig 3 at Viewfield.
Spartan Energy Corp. had two rigs, Tempco Drilling Company Rig 9 at Viewfield and Horizon Rig 29 at Hoffer. Torc Oil and Gas Ltd. had two Trinidad rigs – Rig 427 at Torquay, and Rig 428 at Steelman.
Spectrum Resources Ltd. had Stampede Rig 2 at Minard. Steppe Petroleum employed Betts Drilling Rig 4 at Outram. Vermillion Energy Inc. had Horizon Rig 27 active at Northgate.
Mosaic Potash had Ensign Rig 689 at Esterhazy.
In southwest Saskatchewan, the Kindersley was once again a hotbed. In this region, there were seven contractors working for 9 operators. Caltex Resources Ltd. had Savanna Drilling Canada Rig 431 at Druid.
Crescent Point had three rigs in the Shaunavon area, Savanna Rig 429 at Lietchville, Horizon Rig 16 and Precision Drilling Rig 150 at Eastbrook. Savanna Rig 420 and Rig 436 were both at Plato and Dodsland, respectively.
ISH Energy Ltd. employed Horizon Rig 61 at Prairiedale. NAL Resources Ltd. had Precision Drilling rig 188 and Forgan and Predator Rig 8 at Elrose.
Raging River Exploration had three rigs, including Savanna Rig 425 at Dodsland and Rig 441 and Brock, while Tempco Rig 6 was at Gleneath.
Surge Energy Inc. had Precision Drilling Rig 191 at Eastend.
Teine Energy Ltd. employed four rigs. Ensign Rig 349 was at Avon Hill, Rig 356 was at Whiteside and Rig 358 was at Brock, while Bonanza Drilling Rig 1 was at Dodsland.
Whitecap Resources had two rigs. Bonanza Rig 2 was at Whiteside while Ensign Rig 352 was at Lucky Hills.
In northwest Saskatchewan, Black Pearl Resources Inc. had two Ensign Drilling Inc. rigs, Rigs 112 and 350, working near Onion Lake. Caltex had Savanna Rig 435 south of Macklin. Gear Energy Ltd. had Trinidad Drilling Rig 7 near Paradise Hill and West Lake Energy Corp. had Star Valley Drilling Rig 101 at Tangleflags, north of Maidstone. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. also had a rig at Tangleflags, Precision Drilling Rig 300.
