Must be Canada, eh?
Extremely cold temperatures in the area have kept the home fires burning—whether they be wood, gas, oil, propane, electric — or good old fashioned coal to warm houses and shops. This early morning picture showing combustion vapours drifting skyward was taken in Provost after the night time temperature had plummeted to a brutal 40 degrees below zero. Those working or playing outside in extreme cold like this can be vulnerable to frostbite or hypothermia, which can be fatal unless precautions are taken. ©Provost News Photo.
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Drilling Activity to Increase Rest of Year
Venezuela, Iraq Unrest Leads Oil to $35 per Barrel
Oil prices soaring above the $35 U.S. per barrel mark has spurred drilling interest in Alberta and other places across the nation.
Part of the reason for the increase is the possibility of war in Iraq and labour strife in Venezuela that has spurred fears about oil supplies.
The price, listed last week was the highest recorded on the market since November 30, 2000.
Oil production in Venezuela has dropped by more than two-thirds, from three million barrels a day to 800,000.
The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) is forecasting more drilling for the balance 2003.
PSAC is anticipating a total Canadian well count of 17,500 for 2003, an increase of 11 per cent over 2002 and a six per cent improvement compared to the initial 2003 forecast issued in October 2002.
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This total projected count includes approximately; 4,783 oil wells, 10,944 gas wells, 1,575 dry wells, and 198 service wells. Gas drilling represents 63 per cent of total wells for 2003, up three per cent from 2002 actual gas wells.
“Producers drilled more shallow gas wells than anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2002.” says PSAC president Roger Soucy. “We forecast this trend will continue as commodity prices are expected to remain strong for the remainder of the year.”
In Alberta 12,800 wells are forecast, up slightly from the 2002 count of 11,481. Southeastern and northwestern Alberta will continue to account for a significant portion of the activity with 5,815 and 1,650 wells respectively. British Columbia is expected to reach 805 wells drilled in 2003, a 31 per cent increase over last year. PSAC is predicting Saskatchewan activity will also increase. A total of 3,700 wells are to be drilled in that province in 2003, compared to 3,478 in 2002.
“We continue to see an increase in deeper gas prone drilling in the foothills, northern Alberta, and northeastern British Columbia,” said Soucy. “This bodes well for the service sector in 2003.”
Meanwhile the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors reported recently that 595 of 666 drilling rigs are now working—the highest level of activity since February 2001.
The Petroleum Services Association of Canada is the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry. PSAC represents a diverse range of over 260 member companies, contracted almost exclusively to oil and gas exploration and production companies.
Story and picture in January 29 edition of The Provost News.
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