Gas Well Permits Up Producers across Canada permitted 1,889 wells last month, up from October’s 1,498 wells, as there was an increase in gas well licensing.
Companies authorized 1,637 wells in November 2013, with 2,026 well permits in November 2012.
This year’s January-to-November licence count is 15,150 wells, up about 9.4 per cent from 13,859 well authorizations granted in the comparable period last year.
Gas permitting in the three western-most provinces over the first 11 months of 2014 totalled 3,033 wells, an increase of about 48 per cent from 2,051 permits last year. In 2005, 19,110 gas wells were licensed to the end of November.
Across Western Canada, producers licensed 390 gas wells in November, up from 223 a year ago.
Producers in Western Canada licensed 855 wells to drill for oil or bitumen in November, down from 1,011 a year ago and 1,045 the prior month.
To the end of November, records show 9,539 permits were approved in Western Canada to drill for oil or bitumen, up 4.7 per cent from 9,112 licences last year.
This year’s 11-month total includes 9,601 horizontal wells (excluding experimental wells), or about 74 per cent of the total. Last year, to the end of November, operators had permitted 8,560 horizontal wells (again, excluding experimental wells), or 72 per cent of the total.
All four western provinces reported a year-over-year increase in permitting over the first 11 months of the year.
Bulletin records show British Columbia assigned 108 new licences in November (169 were approved, or input). To the end of November, the province has assigned 1,167 wells, an increase of 29 per cent from 905 wells assigned in the comparable period last year.
There were 1,325 licences approved in Alberta during November, up from 1,014 licences issued a year ago. Over the first 11 months of 2014, well permitting has lifted about six per cent to 9,165 wells compared to 8,645 wells in January-November 2013.
In Saskatchewan, 394 wells were licensed last month, down from 436 a year ago. During January to November of 2014, a total of 4,296 wells have been licensed compared to 3,766 in the year-prior period (up 14.1 per cent).
Licensing in Manitoba declined to 62 wells in November compared to 68 a year ago, while the 11-month tally has lifted 3.5 per cent to 507 from 490 a year ago.
Operators licensed 575 oilsands evaluation wells in November, up from 268 permits issued in November 2013. Over the first 11 months of the year, 1,799 oilsands evaluation wells have been licensed compared to 1,576 last year.
Excluding experimental wells, Canadian Natural Resources Limited led producers by permitting 135 wells in November. Canadian Natural’s count for the month included 110 bitumen permits.
In second place, Crescent Point Energy Corp. licensed 85 wells (all oil permits), followed by Husky Energy Inc. with 70 well authorizations for the month (including 35 oil well permits).
Imperial Oil Resources Limited approved 55 wells and Raging River Exploration Inc. permitted 43 wells in November.
After 11 months, Canadian Natural is still the only operator to crack the 1,000 permit mark. It has licensed 1,583 wells (excluding experimental wells) during the January-to-November period, followed by Husky (859), Crescent Point (736), Encana Corporation (399) and Cenovus Energy Inc. (365).
Canadian Natural has licensed 1,196 bitumen wells from January to November, while Husky has approved 551 oil wells through the first 11 months of 2014.