Rig report: Northwest Sask sees substantial uptick in activity, while southeast Sask sees numerous juniors get back in the game

Brian Zinchuk

Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online

Panther Drilling Rig 3 moved through Estevan on Sept. 29, heading toward Oungre. Fast Trucking Service did the rig move. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Drilling rig activity has picked up considerably in northwest Saskatchewan, according to Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC) published by RiggerTalk.com. In total, 43 drilling rigs were making hole or moving.

Oct. 5 saw 12 rigs working in northwest Saskatchewan. Cenovus has dramatically picked up its game from earlier in the year, when it only had one rig going. Now it has seven, at Lone Rock, two at Rush Lake, another across the North Saskatchewan River from Rush Lake, Sandall, Paradise Hill and Bolney.

International Petroleum Corp had one rig at Onion Lake. Croverro Energy had one close to Highway 16, between Lloydminster and Marshall. Canadian Natural Resources Limited had a rig north of Maidstone.

West central Sask

Moving to west central Saskatchewan, there were 12 rigs working in that area. North of Macklin, within sight of the Alberta border, Longshore Resources Ltd. had two rigs working.

Strathcona Resouces was also working immediately adjacent to the border, with a rig at Cactus Lake.

Baytex Energy had one rig west of Coleville and another southeast of Elrose. Ish Energy had a rig just southwest of Kindersley. Teine Energy had three rigs between Plenty and Kindersley, while Novus had one rig in that area.

Saturn Oil + Gas hand one rig north of Plato, and Teine had one close to Plato.

North of Flaxcombe, Whitecap Resources has one rig.

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  0047 Estevan Oilfield Technical Society 2023
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Southwest Sask

There were four rigs in southwest Saskatchewan. One was drilling for North American Helium, southwest of Mankota. Crescent Point had one rig a stone’s throw from the west side of Shaunavon and a second at Gull Lake. Whitecap had a rig just north of Gull Lake.

Southeast Sask

There were 16 rigs in southeast Saskatchewan. While Whitecap and Crescent Point each had a few rigs, the region was punctuated by a substantial number of junior producers running one rig each. This is a noticeable uptick in junior producer drilling activity in the area, after years of stagnation.

Whitecap was drilling with one rig in the Weyburn Unit. Vermillion and Crescent Point each had a rig working near Bromhead. Crescent Point also had rigs working east of Griffin and north of Forget.

The Lampman/Benson area continues to be a hotbed of activity. West of Benson, Midale Petroleums was drilling with one rig. Near Woodley, Aldon Oils and Whitecap each had a rig, with Whitecap having a second at Browning. South of Lampman, Surge Energy was drilling. Rok Resources had one rig within spitting distance of the Steelman townsite.

Tundra Oil & Gas was drilling just south of the coal mines, southwest of Roche Percee. Saturn oil & Gas had a rig punching a hole east of Manor. Spectrum had a rig between Gainsborough and Fertile. Adonai Resources was working along Highway 18, east of Glen Ewen.

• 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
  0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
• 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
  0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
• 0050 Pride Upkeep lawn
  0050 Pride Upkeep lawn
• 0048 Hutts Trucking Safety
  0048 Hutts Trucking Safety
• 0047 Estevan Oilfield Technical Society 2023
  0047 Estevan Oilfield Technical Society 2023
• 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
  0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
• 0044 PTRC CCUS Aquistore
  0044 PTRC CCUS Aquistore
• 0043 ALX ten sizes
  0043 ALX ten sizes
• 0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third
  0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third
• 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
  0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
• 0040 Southeast College safety tickets
  0040 Southeast College safety tickets
• 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
• 0029 Latus Viro updated Latus phone
• 0025 Kendalls
• 0023 LC Trucking tractor picker hiring mix
• 0022 Grimes winter hiring
• 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
• 0019 Jerry Mainil Ltd hiring dugout
• 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
• 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
• 0011
• 0006 JK Junior
• 0004 Royal Helium PO Ad 02
• 9001
• 0002