Drilling activity continues to stagnate around the mid-30s mark, according to numbers posted by Rig Locator (www.riglocator.ca) on Sept. 15.
On that day the active rig count for Saskatchewan, defined by of rigs either drilling or moving, was 35.
Two rigs were noticeable outliers. Quinn Drilling Inc. Rig 19 was working for Dawn Energy Inc. east-northeast of Moosomin within sight of the Manitoba border. While the area due east of this site has seen drilling on the Manitoba side of the border for several years, it鈥檚 not common to see activity in this area within Saskatchewan.
The second outlier was the resumption of drilling for helium near Ponteix. Savanna Drilling Canada Rig 416 was drilling for North American Helium Inc., northeast of Ponteix, home of Mo, the pliesosaur.
The southeast鈥檚 gain has been west central Saskatchewan鈥檚 pain. In particular, activity has picked up in the Stoughton area, but dropped substantially in the Kindersley region. The Kindersley area has generally been leading the province for the number of active drilling rigs, but there were only eight, stretching from Macklin to Elrose.
The City of Medicine Hat had Quintera Drilling Ltd. Rig 7 at Senlac. Further south, near the Alberta border, Teine Energy Ltd. had Bonanza Drilling Rig 1 at Milton. Teine鈥檚 other two rigs included Ensign Drilling Inc. Rig 356 at Lucky Hills and Rig 358 at Dodsland.
Nearby, at Dodsland, Crescent Point Energy Corp. had Savanna Rig 436 turning to the right. Further south, at Plato, Crescent Point had Savanna Rig 420.
Raging River Exploration Inc. was down to one rig, Savanna Drilling Rig 439 at Elrose. Precision Drilling (PD) Rig 188 was drilling next door for NAL Resources.
Five rigs were working in northwest Saskatchewan. Right along the Alberta border, at Onion Lake, Ensign Rigs 350 and 112 were working side-by-side for Black Pearl Resources Inc.
Akita Drilling Ltd. Rig 6 was working for Husky Energy Inc. at Celtic. Their second rig, Precision Drilling Rig 197, was at their Rush Lake thermal area along the North Saskatchewan River. For the first time in a long time, Husky appeared on the list of top five active operators across Canada, as listed by Rig Locator. It was tied for fourth place with Peyto Exploration and Development Corp., with seven rigs apiece.
Baytex Energy Ltd. also had a PD rig, PD Rig 155, working just a few miles northeast of Maidstone.
Activity in the southwest remains close to normal, with four rigs beyond the aforementioned helium rig. Savanna Rigs 419 and 629 spudded across the road from each other for Crescent Point northwest of Shaunavon, at Clintonville. Horizon Rig 16 was working for them at Rapdan, southwest of Shaunavon.
Surge Energy Inc. continued drilling with one rig in Eastend area, employing PD Rig 191.
In southeast Saskatchewan, three Crescent Point rigs were working south of Torquay, including Trinidad Drilling Rigs 421 and 423, and Alliance Drilling and Oilfield Service Ltd. Rig 3. Closer to Oungre, Spartan Energy had Horizon Rig 29.
Alliance Rig 2 was working for Midale Petroleums southwest of Benson, at Bryant. Alliance Rig 5 was working for Crescent Point at Froude.
PD Rig 146 was working north of Stoughton at Lost Horse Hill for Crescent Point, while PD Rid 195 was working southeast of Stoughton at Morrisview.
Trinidad Rig 427 was in it鈥檚 usual stomping grounds at Steelman for Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. At Pinto, Stampede Drilling Ltd. Rig 2 was drilling for Astra Oil Corp.
Spartan had Tempco Rig 9 working at Queensdale and Panther Drilling Rig 4 at Winmore, southeast of Carievale.
Tundra Oil & Gas Ltd had Trindad Rig 12 working at Antler.
Panther Rig 2 was working for NAL at Alida. At Bellegarde, Betts Drilling Rig 2 was drilling for Silver Bay Resources Ltd.
Finally, Ensign Rig 689 was drilling near Esterhazy for Mosaic Potash Esterhazy Limited Partnership.
