Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the 2024 Top Operators Report, brought to you by KPMG in Canada & geoLOGIC systems ltd. Download a free copy of the full report here.

The Montney and Duvernay resource plays and Clearwater heavy oil play were the major focus for land acquisition and drilling activity in 2023.

Expect more of the same for the remainder of 2024 and beyond, said Bruce Hancock, Director, Technical Advisory Group, geoLOGIC systems ltd.

In 2023 there were large Montney land sale parcels purchased in Sinclair and Elmworth areas, but drilling was spread throughout the Montney fairway with a focus on the liquids window, said Hancock.

In December 2024, British Columbia land sales will resume, and more than likely the Montney open Crown rights will be highly sought after.

“It is an unknown right now what lands in B.C. will be expiring as most of the lands were given extensions due to COVID and ongoing discussions and consultations with First Nations. The timing on when the government will start giving the companies expiry dates on the lands that were supposed to expire in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 will be something everyone will be watching,” he said. “The first tranche of postings will more than likely be in areas where the Montney rights are available offsetting the wells that have been drilled and put on production since the last land sale occurred in May of 2021.”

“I also assume they will concentrate on the liquids window fairway.”

The Duvernay play saw a large amalgamation of lands purchased in the Carrot Creek and Pembina areas in 2023 as well as the southwestern and northeast flank of the Sturgeon Lake Reef.

Meanwhile, the majority of the 2023 Duvernay wells were focused in the Kaybob/Simonette, Twining, Pembina, Kaybob South, Trochu and Fox Creek areas.

So far in 2024, drilling is continuing in the same areas, but operators are concentrating on the liquids and the oil window, said Hancock.

“Large land blocks in the Pembina area continue to be snapped up (condensate window), as well as in the Willesden Green area, which is predominantly oil driven.”

Clearwater lands have been actively posted and purchased in 2023 between Nipisi and Dawson (see map below), as well as in the Ukalta and Figure Lake surrounding areas. A significant number of wells have been drilled in all the major Clearwater pools, as well as several exploration wells that are testing the limits of the pool boundaries and new shoreline trends, such as in the Steele area.

“It is expected in 2024 that development will continue to expand in the core areas and operators will continue to test new shoreline sands along the trend. Based on the impressive results they are seeing in the Peavine and Dawson areas, operators will not be afraid to test areas where the logs don’t look great. These areas are a good example of why you should not just rely on logs and you should collect all the available geological data you can that will give you indications that oil is present, such as core data (oil saturation), mud log data (oil staining) and DST data (recoveries).”

Hancock added: “I suspect the land rush isn’t over on the Clearwater fairway as there has been some recent exploration wells drilled at Steele in the south and Cadotte in the north. I do believe that more work needs to be done on the fluid analysis (API and Viscosity) as this might open up new areas as well.”

In addition, he says that there are several other potential plays that could see increased activity in the years ahead.

“There are plays like the Charlie Lake that are thriving, and I think once the land sales startup in B.C. you will see increased activity with operators making sure the Charlie Lake rights are included when they post the Montney rights. Drilling activity for Charlie Lake in Alberta is rapidly approaching the B.C. border.”

Multilateral drilling will continue to open up new plays across the WCSB, he added.

“The Basal Belly River play is starting to heat up again with the emergence of multilateral drilling (greater than 10 legs) and will continue to grow into 2025. Shallow horizons like the Doe Creek have potential for multilateral development but thickness might be a challenge.”

To learn more about the oil and gas plays and technology trends in the WCSG, download your free copy of the 2024 Top Operators Report here.