After years of only moderate activity in its BC Montney assets, ConocoPhillips appears poised to enter the next stage of its development. Licensing activity in 2023 shows 94 licences in British Columbia, which marks a new yearly high for the company as it begins to position itself for significant Montney production growth. Of these 94 licences, 68 of them are in the last month alone.
Figure 1 – ConocoPhillips BC Montney licences by year
A slide from the company’s analyst and investor presentation back in April 2023 shows that ConocoPhillips expects a 20% CAGR over the next 10 years in its Montney production. In terms of actual production, that means that the company is guiding towards adding over 100,000 BOE/d of BC Montney production over the next decade.
Figure 2 – slide from ConocoPhillips analyst and investor presentation – April 2023
Source: 2023-conocophillips-aim-presentation.pdf
Figure 3 below shows the gross licensed production for the company in BC only. This is an aggregation of all wells licensed to ConocoPhillips in BC without accounting for any working interest agreements. On that basis, ConocoPhillips produced ~31,000 BOE/d in October, and while full data for November is not quite all in as of the writing of this article, it looks like some big new wells recently placed on production will mean that November production will show a large jump higher. Hovering over the chart below will show the November updated production volumes that are reported already.
Figure 3 – ConocoPhillips gross licensed production – British Columbia only
Speaking of those big new wells placed on production, a sneak peak at our upcoming TOP WELL REPORT for November shows that ConocoPhillips actually had the two highest rate oil/condensate wells in all of Canada. The company had 2 condensate wells at Inga that produced 1,370 bbl/d and 1,207 bbl/d, plus associated gas.
Figure 4 – Top 15 Overall oil/condensate wells – November volumes
| Licensee | Province | UWI | Field | Formation | Monthly Liquids Production (bbl) | Daily Average Liquids (bbl/d) | Daily Average Gas (mcf/d) | On Prod Date | Monthly Hours | Cumulative Liquids (bbl) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp. | BC | 202C034J094A1200 | INGA | Montney | 41,099.0 | 1,370.0 | 2,287.0 | 2023-09-01 | 384.0 | 41,100.0 |
| ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp. | BC | 202D034J094A1200 | INGA | Montney | 36,217.0 | 1,207.0 | 1,943.0 | 2023-09-01 | 360.0 | 36,218.0 |
| Canadian Natural Resources Limited | BC | 200A017H094A1300 | FIREWEED | Montney | 35,149.0 | 1,172.0 | 5,105.0 | 2023-07-01 | 720.0 | 42,875.0 |
| Crescent Point Energy Corp. | AB | 104111106903W600 | BEZANSON | MONTNEY FM | 32,004.0 | 1,067.0 | 2,084.0 | 2023-10-28 | 0.0 | 34,318.0 |
| ARC Resources Ltd. | AB | 102010206505W600 | KARR | MONTNEY FM | 29,749.0 | 992.0 | 3,410.0 | 2023-07-30 | 0.0 | 88,321.0 |
| Baytex Energy Ltd. | AB | 100011907815W502 | UNDEFINED | WILRICH MBR | 28,921.0 | 964.0 | 25.0 | 2023-09-19 | 691.0 | 71,202.0 |
| Crescent Point Energy Corp. | AB | 100020906904W600 | ELMWORTH | MONTNEY FM | 28,117.0 | 937.0 | 3,544.0 | 2023-03-13 | 659.0 | 316,890.0 |
| Longshore Resources Ltd. | AB | 100131008009W600 | GORDONDALE | CHARLIE LAKE FM | 26,812.0 | 894.0 | 1,811.0 | 2023-11-09 | 510.0 | 26,812.0 |
| ARC Resources Ltd. | AB | 102020206505W602 | KARR | MONTNEY FM | 26,498.0 | 883.0 | 3,367.0 | 2023-08-08 | 0.0 | 80,374.0 |
| ARC Resources Ltd. | AB | 100010206505W600 | KARR | MONTNEY FM | 26,396.0 | 880.0 | 2,770.0 | 2023-08-01 | 0.0 | 73,011.0 |
| Yoho Resources Inc. | BC | 102143008723W600 | INGA | Montney | 25,739.0 | 858.0 | 1,268.0 | 2023-10-01 | 720.0 | 41,916.0 |
| Yoho Resources Inc. | BC | 103153008723W600 | INGA | Montney | 25,530.0 | 851.0 | 1,171.0 | 2023-10-01 | 720.0 | 41,206.0 |
| Crescent Point Energy Corp. | AB | 100051106903W600 | BEZANSON | MONTNEY FM | 25,219.0 | 841.0 | 2,017.0 | 2023-10-28 | 0.0 | 25,556.0 |
| ARC Resources Ltd. | AB | 103080206505W600 | KARR | MONTNEY FM | 24,958.0 | 832.0 | 2,504.0 | 2023-08-08 | 0.0 | 61,739.0 |
| Crescent Point Energy Corp. | AB | 103101006903W600 | BEZANSON | MONTNEY FM | 24,516.0 | 817.0 | 1,572.0 | 2023-10-30 | 0.0 | 24,517.0 |
*Only oil/condensate volumes are included in liquids volumes, not other NGLs.
This pickup in activity directed towards the Montney in BC comes right on the heels of the formal sanctioning of ConocoPhillips’ Willow project in Alaska. While 2024 guidance and capital budget are not yet released for the company, it will be worth watching how much capital is directed to each area going forward.