Let’s take a break from the OPEC+ supply increase and Trump Tariff drama for a moment, shall we? Time for another edition of our TOP WELL REPORT.
Most production data is out for January. BC and Saskatchewan data has been reported in full, while Alberta has reported oil, condensate, and gas; full Alberta NGL data (including pentane) and marketable gas is due out in a week or so. While the January data won’t be considered complete until the rest of the Alberta data has been reported, it is nonetheless worthwhile to show the data as it stands today. Pentane volumes in Alberta will not be represented yet for January which may affect liquids results, and “gas equivalent” volumes will be used instead of “marketable gas” in cases where marketable gas is not yet available. As always, we use calendar day production metrics so these are real volumes produced in the month. Despite the incomplete version of this data, it is still interesting to present it as this data is fresh.
BOE Intel subscribers can generate these reports for themselves whenever they want, and interact with the wells on the BOE Intel activity map. Subscribers are able to generate top well reports with more wells, on an overall basis, by formation, by company, by area, or by well type.
TOP 15 OIL/CONDENSATE WELLS (see on map)
TOP 15 NATURAL GAS WELLS (see on map)
Notable oil/condensate wells:
- ConocoPhillips impressed with the top 5 wells (and 6 out of 7) in January. All 6 wells come from the company’s Montney development at Inga in northeast BC, with 2 wells in January coming in at over 2,000 bbl/d of condensate. For a closer look at the success the company is having in this area, check out the analysis done by HTM Energy Research here.
- Veren had 3 of the top 10 wells. These 3 Montney oil wells came from the Karr area, with the top well producing 1,376 bbl/d of oil in the month.
- ARC Resources had 2 of the top 15 wells in January. Both wells have been extremely strong producers since being placed on production in August of 2024, although rates have been declining since reaching their peak rates late last year. Nonetheless, they remain strong producers and are the “oldest” of any of the wells to be on the top well list this month.
- Archer Exploration continues to drill some of the best Charlie Lake wells around. This month the company had the only 2 Charlie Lake results to make the overall top 15. The two wells produced 1,085 bbl/d of oil and 874 bbl/d of oil, respectively.
- Ovintiv doesn’t just drill the best natural gas wells around, but came in with the #14 oil/condensate well in January. This well from Tower in northeast BC produced 856 bbl/d of condensate.
- Rounding out the most prolific wells list is a Duvernay well from Spartan Delta that produced 838 bbl/d of oil in the month. This was the highest producing Duvernay well in Canada during the month.
TOP 15 OIL/CONDENSATE WELLS – January volumes – (pentane volumes not yet reported for January in Alberta)
*AB pentane volumes not yet reported. “Gas equivalent” volumes represented in gas column until “marketable gas” is reported.
**TOP WELL REPORTS generally filter out oil sands/thermal wells, and only consider onshore Canadian production. However, BOE Intel subscribers can choose their own well types and include or exclude these wells
Notable natural gas wells:
- The most interesting part of the top natural gas wells is the lack of extremely large rates this month (not that 20 mmcf/d isn’t a big well of course). It’s likely the result of companies focusing efforts on the liquids rich parts of their acreage as a result of very low Canadian gas prices over the last several months. In fact, many of the top rates this month are from relatively “older” wells, as opposed to newer wells with lots of flush production. Only 4 of the top 15 natural gas wells were placed on production in November 2024 or after, compared to 12 of the top 15 oil/condensate wells.
- Ovintiv had the top producing natural gas well in January, and 4 of the top 15. It was the only company to have a well over 20 mmcf/d in the month. Continuing with the theme mentioned in the bullet point above, Ovintiv has only placed 7 new wells on production in British Columbia since November of 2024 (keeping in mind the data lag from the newest results).
- Canadian Natural Resources continues to show that it has something special in the Falher formation in the Wapiti area of Alberta. With a lack of monster Montney gas wells from industry this month, CNRL was able to represent with 5 Falher wells near the top of the highest producing gas wells list, as well as a Montney well from Septimus.
- Also with top 15 natural gas wells this month:
- Tourmaline – Spirit River well at Resthaven – 18.2 mmcf/d
- ARC Resources – 3 Montney wells from Sunrise – 54.8 mmcf/d in total
- Advantage Energy – Montney well from Pouce Coupe South – 18.7 mmcf/d
TOP 15 NATURAL GAS WELLS – January volumes
*AB pentane volumes not yet reported. “Gas equivalent” volumes represented in gas column until “marketable gas” is reported.