September-October Licence Activity Review – Crew Energy and Pacific Canbriam impress in the Montney

After a bit of a lull in August-September, Canadian licensing activity picked up once again in the past 30 days. From September 13 to October 12, 509 licences were obtained. This represents a noteworthy 3.7% increase compared to the previous month, which saw companies obtain 491 new licences. This past month’s licences were spread across 98 unique licensees, representing an average of 5.2 licences per licensee. Using data from BOE Intel and Petro Ninja, we’ve identified a number of trends across the various producers and producing formations.

Top Licensees

• Cenvous was the most active licensee once again this month, accounting for 64 licences. As has been the case in prior months, virtually all of the company’s new licences were located in either its heavy oil or oil sands assets. Interestingly, 30 of the company’s licences this month are located in Saskatchewan’s Lloyd Thermal area, with two thirds targeting the Waseca producing formation.
• Crew Energy obtained an impressive number of Montney licences. Specifically, the company has licensed for 2 20-well pads in the BC Montney. The loaded pads, both of which are in Township 081-21W6, are likely a result of positive exploration well results at Monias (discussed in detail in Crew’s most recent corporate presentation). These licences are in the vicinity of the potential future Groundbirch plant, and likely bring the company one step closer to making a formal decision on its sanctioning.
• Pacific Canbriam’s 32 licences are concentrated at Altares, one of the company’s major asset groups. These Montney licences appear poised to augment the company’s production from existing assets, given the large number of producing wells that already exist in the area.
• Strathcona Resources, having successfully acquired Pipestone Energy earlier this month, licensed across its assets along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. 9 are Cold Lake Thermal licences at Tucker, while the remainder are spread across the Meota, Winter and Bodo fields in Strathcona’s Lloydminster Heavy Oil assets. For reference, the Cold Lake Thermal and Lloydminster Heavy Oil assets both produced around 55,000 BOE/d in aggregate according to Strathcona’s August corporate presentation.

Licensee	Licence Count
Cenovus Energy Inc.	64
Crew Energy Inc.	40
Pacific Canbriam Energy Limited	32
Strathcona Resources Ltd.	24
Canadian Natural Resources Limited	18
Spur Petroleum Ltd.	16
Petronas Energy Canada Ltd.	16
Baytex Energy Ltd	15
Crescent Point Energy Corp.	15
Teine Energy Ltd.	14
Other	255
Total	509

Top Formations

• The past month saw companies obtain 119 Montney licences, more than the next three most targeted formations combined. Of these licences, 91 targeted the BC Montney while 28 targeted the Alberta Montney. More than half of the Montney licences were obtained by Crew Energy and Pacific Canbriam, accounting for 40 and 32 licences respectively. Other major Montney licensees include Petronas (16 licences), NuVista (12 licences), Paramount Resources (6 licences) and Kelt Exploration (6 licences).
• Of the 31 Viking licences between September 13 and October 12, 11 were obtained by Baytex Energy. According to the company’s most recent corporate presentation, Baytex expects to bring approximately 46 net Viking light oil wells onstream in H2 2023. These licences may play a significant role in helping the company deliver on this objective.
• Spur Petroleum obtained 10 of the 15 Clearwater licences this month. The company’s licences were predominantly spread across the Marten Hills, Nipisi, and Desmarais fields.

Producing Formation	Licence Count
Montney	119
Mcmurray	47
Viking	31
Waseca	28
Sparky	27
Clearwater	15
Duvernay	14
Frobisher	11
Cardium	11
Bakken	11
Other	195
Total	509

To keep track of the latest licensing activity in the Canadian oil patch for yourself, check out BOE Intel.