December-January Licence Activity Review – Tourmaline starting/finishing the year strong

Canadian licensing declined last month, putting an end to a streak of activity growth that began back in October. From December 13 to January 12, 663 licences were obtained. This represents a 33.9% decline compared to the previous month, which saw companies obtain 1,004 new licences. This past month’s licences were spread across 79 unique licensees, representing an average of 8.4 licences per licensee. Overall, the month was dominated by producers operating in the Montney, particularly in BC where new licence volumes were high for a number of major producers. Using data from BOE Intel and Petro Ninja, we’ve identified a number of trends across the various producers and producing formations.

Licensees

• Tourmaline obtained 73 licences this month, over 60 licences more than the month prior. Of these licences, 63 are located in BC. This accounts for almost half of all BC licences obtained last month. The company’s 10 other licences were spread across the Alberta Montney and the Deep Basin plays and targeted either the Spirit River or the Charlie Lake producing formations.
• ConocoPhillips Canada put together a similar (if slightly smaller) roster of new licences this month. As shown in the map below, ConocoPhillips’ 44 licences were mostly concentrated in township K/094-A-12. These licences are nestled between a number of the company’s existing Montney wells, and are also near wells drilled by CNRL and Petronas.
• Whitecap Resources licensed across its varied asset groups this month, with the company’s 10 licences near Estevan making that area the company’s most active for December-January. This marked another month of active licensing in the company’s East Division assets, with only 4 of the 35 total licences taking place in the West Division.

Producing Formations

• The Montney led all producing formations once again this month, due in large part to Tourmaline and ConocoPhillips’ big showings in BC. Other major Montney licensees include ARC Resources (29 licences), Todd Energy Canada Ltd. (28 licences) and Strathcona Resources (7 licences). Todd Energy Canada’s licences from last month represent a substantial portion of its total licence holding (71 total licences). A subsidiary of New Zealand private company Todd Energy International, Todd Energy Canada operates exclusively in the Birch area of BC.
• Tamarack Valley led all Clearwater licensees with 12 licences, while International Petroleum Corporation Canada and Headwater Exploration obtained 10 and 9 respectively. The majority of licensing in the Clearwater took place at the usual hotspots, with 13 located at Marten/Marten Hills, 10 at Portage and 8 at Nipisi.
• The Duvernay producing formation, a focus of much M&A activity in the second half of 2023, was active once again. Interestingly, Chevron obtained the most Duvernay licences of any company (6 licences). We’ll remind our readers of the announcement last week that Chevron is exploring a sale of its Duvernay assets.

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