U.S.-based firms make headway

Gary Park, PNA Canadian correspondent

Two U.S.-based based independents are starting to reap rewards from their decision to set up operations in Canada and push into northern oil and natural gas regions.

Oklahoma-based Devon Energy Corp. has pumped a healthy 772.9 million cubic feet per day in Canada for the first nine months of 2002, more than quadrupling last year’s 169.3 million cubic feet per day and has boosted its Canadian oil output to 44,500 barrels per day from 14,300 barrels.

The bulk of the gains came from the October 2001 takeover of Anderson Exploration Ltd. for US$4.6 billion. In the Foothills, along the Alberta-British Columbia border, Devon, in releasing its third-quarter results Nov. 7, reported two successful gas wells in its Findlay prospect and two successful exploratory wells at Big Point and Moose.

In the Deep Permian gas play in northeastern British Columbia’s Foothills, Devon said it expects gas will start flowing this month into a newly completed pipeline from the Grizzly Valley area at the rate of about 10 million cubic feet per day.

That output will raise Devon’s net Foothills gas production to about 100 million cubic feet per day.

But the company’s busiest Canadian operation was Lloydminster in east-central Alberta, where it produces cold-flow heavy oil and gas. To the end of September, Devon notched 188 successes from 202 wells, 117 of which were drilled in the third quarter.

Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. said Nov. 14 that its Canadian gas output has averaged 39.1 million cubic feet per day over the first nine months, a gain of almost 10 million cubic feet per day in 12 months, but crude oil and natural gas liquids output slipped to 3,300 barrels per day from 3,700 barrels.

In the Alberta Foothills, where Forest has interests ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent, its Narraway 3-24 well is drilling at 10,500 feet to test deep objectives in a challenging new play.

Through Forest’s joint exploration venture in the Fort Liard area of the lower Northwest Territories, where the company has a 33 percent to 65 percent working interest, the farmee has proposed a deep Nahanni test, with the well expected to start drilling in the upcoming winter season.