EDMONTON - A drilling revival has begun as rising natural gas prices fuel increases in industry budgets, the Petroleum Services Association of Canada reported Wednesday.
The 270-company group sharply increased its 2008 activity forecast to 16,500 wells, up 14 per cent from a previous prediction of 14,500 wells made as gas languished in a market low last fall. Nearly 12,000 wells or three-fourths of western Canadian drilling will be in Alberta this year, though the industry is accelerating oil exploration in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, PSAC added.
"While all the talk of late is centred around the rising price of oil, it's actually the price of natural gas that really impacts the industry in Canada, especially in Alberta," association president Roger Soucy said in a statement on the new numbers.
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