Oil powers Canadian upstream

Canadian regulators approved another 2,315 oil and gas well permits in October, up 10 percent from a year earlier, pushing the 10-month tally to 18,730 licenses (including test and evaluation wells), edging 3 percent ahead of the comparable 2007 count.

Oil was the driving force across Western Canada, with operators receiving permits for 5,979 new wells in the January-October period, an increase of 666 from a year earlier and the highest count in eight years.

Alberta has dragged down the gas sector, issuing 7,639 permits over the 10 months, its poorest showing in six years and off 9 percent from last year, while Saskatchewan surged 22 percent to 1,299 gas-targeted wells and British Columbia gained 10 percent to 899 permits. Saskatchewan is breathing down Alberta’s neck on the oil side, approving 2,727 wells vs. 2,957 in Alberta. Manitoba dropped to 262 oil licenses from 268 and British Columbia slumped to 33 from 68.

Of the permits issued so far this year, 533 have already been canceled, 489 of them in Alberta.Excluding test and evaluation permits, the 16,392 licenses issued to the end of October saw horizontal wells rise to 3,194 from 2,311, while directional licenses rose to 4,117 from 3,805.

—Gary Park