When is drilling season in alberta

A growing number of Canadian drilling rigs are being moved south of the border to take advantage of brighter prospects for oil and gas in the United States — and observers say it's unlikely they will ever return home.

Precision Drilling reports higher rig demand but lower pricing in Q1. One of Canada's largest oil and gas drilling companies is seeing renewed demand for its services but at lower prices. The Alberta government's early start to allowing oil and gas producers to apply for new projects under its modernized royalty framework has resulted in new wells being approved. Share a pet photo, plant a tree? Check before you join a trend, experts say.

Video shows man with a service dog being forcibly removed from Kitchener, Ont. Canada, U. Top Videos. Video shows man with a service dog being removed from a Kitchener, Ont.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team. Latest National Stories. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Thanks for signing up! Varcoe: It's not Black Friday sales, but buying production trumps a drilling bonanza in Canada's oilpatch.

Braid: Kenney's forces start the counterattack on party rebels. This Week in Flyers. Notice for the Postmedia Network This website uses cookies to personalize your content including ads , and allows us to analyze our traffic. What's been a troubled winter for Canada's oil and gas drilling companies appears to be coming to an end - just not in the way they might have hoped.

Warmer weather in Western Canada means the winter thaw of ice and snow - or "break-up season," as it's known in the industry - has started early this year, effectively making the winter drilling season two to three weeks shorter than normal.

That will compound the seasonal affective disorder felt by drilling firms, whose operations have already been severely curbed by warmer weather that has reduced North American gas demand, and consequently commodity prices.

Companies that were hoping to squeeze in more drilling before the spring are being cut off. While the big thaw, usually expected toward the end of March, doesn't completely prevent firms from drilling, it does create huge amounts of mud that prevents them from moving large equipment, such as drilling rigs, on rugged and remote roads in Western Canada's relatively inaccessible natural gas basins. Local municipalities in southeastern Alberta, such as the town of Oyen, have already issued ordinances prohibiting the transport of heavy machinery in an attempt to keep roads clear, essentially meaning that gas rigs in the region can't be sent to drill new wells.

As a result, firms are starting to take their drilling rigs out of service. The number of rigs active in Canada fell to Tuesday from last week, according to the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors.