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CBM, bitumen fuel Canadian license record
Canada has again toppled records for well licenses, issuing 13,837 permits in the first half of 2005, beating last year’s high by 294 wells.
Accounting for the bulk of the increase were coalbed methane and crude bitumen approvals in Alberta, which raised the province’s overall count to 10,789 from 10,556.
The central and foothills regions of Alberta posted a combined 690-well increase, tallying a combined 3,390 licenses, but southeastern Alberta slumped sharply to 4,173 permits from 4,961 to the mid-point of 2004.
The other hot provinces were Saskatchewan, which rose to 2,340 licenses from 2,144, led by a 230-well increase in oil-targeted approvals to 1,114, while British Columbia rose to 528 wells from 471 in 2004.
For the three provinces, gas-targeted wells edged ahead of last year at 9,813 compared with 9,810. Bolstered by sustained high crude prices, oil permits increased to 3,056 from 2,562.
Coalbed methane licenses made the expected gain at 1,225, up 742 from a year earlier, although coalbed methane exploration approvals showed only a modest increase to 236 from 222. Exploratory licenses up 10% The combined total of 3,392 exploratory wells was 10 percent ahead of 2004.
EnCana continued to lead the operators despite a sharp drop to 2,306 wells from 3,035, followed by Apache Canada at 1,027, Canadian Natural Resources at 820, EOG Resources Canada at 568 and Husky Energy at 545.
The potential of coalbed methane was highlighted at a forum sponsored by TD Newcrest and TD Securities.
George Voneiff, president and chief executive officer of MGV Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Texas-based Quicksilver Resources, forecast that the Horseshoe Canyon corridor between Calgary and Edmonton could see 35,000 wells drilled over the next 40 to 50 years to develop 12 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
He said the play has moved over the last three or four years from an emphasis on exploration and research and development to a “gas marketing play, a manufacturing process.”
Voneiff said the challenge is now logistical, not technical.
—Gary Park
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