CBM, bitumen lead way in Alberta

It’s the unconventional that is becoming conventional in Alberta these days, with coalbed methane and bitumen well licenses on the upswing, while conventional oil and natural gas targets languish.

To the end of April, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board issued 4,866 permits, with 598 going to coalbed methane operators, up 56 percent from the 377 issued in the same period last year.

Bitumen licenses surged to 589 from 377, but conventional gas wells slumped by 20 percent to 4,052 and conventional oil well approvals were off by 44 to 717.

Western Canada’s other three provinces all posted gains, with Saskatchewan totaling 1,364 approvals, including a 30 percent increase in oil-targeted permits at 709; British Columbia climbed to 331 from 300; and Manitoba jumped to 79 from 16 for its best performance in the January-April period since 1980.

Northern Canada was unchanged from 2004 with 10 permits, but Eastern Canada dropped to 34 from 43.

Leading the operators were EnCana at 1,653 permits and Canadian Natural Resources at 555.

—Gary Park

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