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Despite a tough 2024 natural gas price environment, major Deep Basin operators Tourmaline Oil Corp. and Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. have kept their drilling and completion activities steady in the Spirit River formation.
Consistent Drilling Amid Price Volatility
Over the past two years, both companies have maintained stable operations, drilling and completing wells in the Spirit River and its sub-members (Notikewin, Falher and Wilrich).
In 2022, while AECO spot prices averaged C$5.10 per gigajoule due to supply concerns from the Ukraine invasion, they spud 148 wells and brought 96 of those wells on production.
2023 and 2024 Activity
In 2023, activity ramped up to 185 wells spud and 154 brought on production, even as spot prices dropped to $2.74 per gigajoule.
By 2024, despite prices averaging just $1.16 per gigajoule in the first three quarters, Tourmaline and Peyto spud 151 wells and brought 128 on production by late November.
Strategic Hedging and Market Diversification
Both companies have leveraged market diversification and hedging strategies to maintain consistent capital programs. Tourmaline’s realized prices were $3.34/mcf, while Peyto’s were $3.29/mcf in the first nine months of 2024.
Productivity Gains
Peyto’s 2024 drilling program resulted in an average 25 per cent sustained production improvement over recent past years. On its recently acquired Repsol Canada lands, average well productivity is up approximately 40 per cent.
Tourmaline’s well productivity in 2024 improved by 20 per cent on raw gas and 40 per cent on condensate/C5+ on an IP90 basis compared to 2020-2023. Some of this improvement came from targeting liquids-rich Glauconite and Dunvegan wells, but it also came from Ansell area Wilrich/Notikewin wells and Kakwa-Smoky-Resthaven Falher/Wilrich development.
Looking Ahead
Peyto plans to spend $450-$500 million in 2025, drilling up to 80 wells, with 455 mmcf/d hedged at around $4/mcf. “We prefer to run a consistent program. We have minimal AECO exposure and will manage production as necessary,” said president and chief executive officer JP Lachance at its third quarter 2024 earnings call.
Tourmaline has built flexibility into its 2025 capital plan, but plans to keep rigs working the first half of 2025, president and chief executive officer Mike Rose said.
“We’re going to get all the pads drilled out and we can have flexibility on whether we frack them,” he said.
Darrell Stonehouse is a Technical Editor at geoLOGIC systems ltd. He has more than 20 years of experience reporting on the oil and gas industry.
