Gas drillers continue blistering pace in Canada

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

New natural gas well permits are being issued at a record pace and land sales in Western Canada point to a lively fall and winter drilling season. To the end of August, regulators authorized 11,006 gas wells, many of which will not be spudded until next year, while gas completions for the eight months tallied 7,500, which should put the industry on track for 12,000 this year and next.

Calgary-based investment dealer FirstEnergy Capital has reinforced that optimism by raising its 2003 forecast for oil and gas wells to 20,068 from 18,462, with gas targets accounting for at least 60 percent. For the January-August period, Alberta logged 5,742 gas wells, Saskatchewan 1,306, British Columbia 434, Northern Canada 5 and Eastern Canada 39. The breakdown included 2,114 exploration holes.

In Western Canada, gas wells soared to 72 percent of August’s total completions of 1,254.