37 rigs still in the field as winter drilling season is about to wrap up

By Brian Zinchuk

The winter drilling season is coming to a close, and that’s evident as active drilling rig numbers decline.

According to RiggerTalk.com, publishing data from the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors, there were 37 rigs working in Saskatchewan on Monday, March 3.

One thing stands out in southeast Saskatchewan – Stampede Drilling, with operations based in Estevan, has come to dominate the region’s activity. The company has grown substantially over the years, absorbing the assets of several smaller contractors including Red Dog Drilling, Vortex Drilling, Crusader Drilling and D2 Drilling. You can’t swing a dead cat in the region without hitting a Stampede rig these days.

There were 14 rigs working in southeast Saskatchewan. Stampede Drilling Rig 4 was working for Tundra Oil and Gas at Ratcliffe, while Stampede Rig 16 was drilling for them east of Lampman.

Panther Drilling Rig 2 was continuing Whitecap Resources Inc.’s drilling program near Hallbrite. Whitecap also had Ensign Drilling Inc Rig 423 north of Lampman and Stampede Rig 17 near Browning.

Veren Inc. had Stampede Rig 19 working north of Creelman, Stampede Rig 7 near Warmley, and Savanna Drilling rig 419 at Viewfield.

Saturn Oil & Gas employed Ensign Rig 808 northwest of Corning, Stampede Rig 8 west of Manor, and Stampede Rig 1 near Glen Ewen.

Villanova Energy Inc. had Horizon Drilling Rig 29 working near Glen Ewen.

West Lake Energy Corp had Stampede Rig 3 working south of Wauchope.

South of Lampman, Stampede Rig 2 was drilling for Surge Energy Inc.

Shifting to southwest Saskatchewan, just one rig was still in the field. Savanna Rig 416 was drilling at Frontier for Veren.

Eleven rigs were drilling in west central Saskatchewan.

Precision Drilling Rig 288 was drilling for Whitecap between Elrose and Kyle. Bonanza Drilling Rig 2 was punching a hole for Whitecap southeast of Elrose. Savanna Rig 431 was drilling northeast of Netherhill.

Teine Energy Ltd. had Ensign Rig 537 drilling northeast of Eston in an area that generally doesn’t see a lot of activity. Ensign 350 was working just northeast of Beadle. Ensign Rig 351 was making hole west of Coleville.

Baytex Energy Corp. had Savanna Rig 441 working within a stone’s throw of Kindersley’s northeast corner. Baytex also had Savanna Rig 425 working six miles due west of Coleville.

Strathcona Resources Ltd. was drilling northeast of Kerrobert with PD Rig 156.

At Kelfield, Cardinal Energy Ltd. was drilling with PD Rig 184. The company had Akita Drilling Rig 27 working a few miles south of Wilkie. Both of those sites are quite a ways from the company’s usual stomping grounds near Midale.

Moving into northwest Saskatchewan, there were 11 rigs working.

Bonanza Rig 1 was working for Strathcona at Winter, with Bonanza Rig 3 a few miles to the northwest. Strathcona also had PD Rig 188 working south of Meota. Akita Drilling Rig 35 was working north of Macklin.

South of Maidstone, Baytex had PD Rig 155 drilling at its Soda Lake area.

A name you don’t see on these reports very often is Durham Creek Energy Ltd., which employed PD Rig 148 south of Lashburn.

North of Highway 16, Cenovus Energy Inc. had four rigs working. At Vawn there was PD Rig 198, while north of Maidstone PD 197 was drilling. At Pikes Peak, PD Rig 150 was drilling, while Ensign Rig 533 was making hole at Hillmound.

For the first time in a long time, IPC showed up on this report with a rig drilling right beside the Alberta border, north of Onion Lake. The company has a substantial SAGD operation at Onion Lake.