Heavy oil plays dominated Canadian drilling activity in the first half of 2025, with operators increasingly deploying open-hole multilateral wells across formations beyond Clearwater.The Clearwater formation remained a top target with 1,142 lateral legs drilled, but combined activity in the Waseca and Sparky Members of the Mannville Group surpassed it, totaling 1,218 lateral legs.The Bluesky formation also saw significant multilateral drilling, with 459 lateral legs completed. Obsidian Energy Ltd. plans to invest $62 million in the Peace River oilsands in H2 2025, targeting both Bluesky and Clearwater formations.Source: gDC CloudMontney leads unconventional playsThe Montney formation remained the top unconventional target, with Ovintiv Inc. leading in productivity, drilling eight of the top 10 wells based on 90-day IP rates. Ovintiv now holds 370,000 net acres in the Montney and plans to invest $575–$625 million in this play this year, targeting 75–85 net wells, supported by a 15–20-year inventory of premium locations and 30+ years of gas inventory.Current production from Montney is approximately 300,000 boe/d, including 55,000 bbls/d of oil and condensate and 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas.Source: gDC Cloud ARC Resources Ltd. was the top Montney driller, continuing development at Attachie Phase 1 and Kakwa, with $150 million allocated for Kakwa drilling in H2 2025 following its $1.6 billion acquisition of Montney assets from Strathcona Resources Ltd.Activity in the Duvernay was also strong as operators continued development at Kaybob, while exploration and development picked up in the Willesden Green/Pembina areas.Baytex Energy Corp. brought two three-well pads online at Pembina, with strong early production:Pad 1: Avg. 3,800m laterals, 1,865 boe/d per well (30-day peak).Pad 2: Similar laterals, 1,264 boe/d per well (first 26 days).Pad 3: Expected online in September.Operator spotlightCanadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) was the top driller in H1 2025, increasing its heavy oil multilateral program by 50% to 182 wells, and beginning development on Kaybob Duvernay assets acquired from Chevron Canada.
Analysis & OpinionGrowth of multilateral heavy oil drilling accelerates across Canada in 2024 Read Article
