RECORD PRODUCTION IN OIL AND GAS PROFILED

A record breaking year for Saskatchewan’s oil and gas industry provides a good news backdrop for an international petroleum conference next week in Regina where Premier Lorne Calvert and Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline will participate as keynote speakers.

The 15th Williston Basin Petroleum Conference and Prospect Expo takes place April 30 and May 1 and covers the latest geoscience research and advanced technologies relevant to the geographical region that is home to about half of the province’s current oil and gas exploration and development.

“Saskatchewan’s oil and gas industry is booming and we still have ample room for more growth,” Cline said.  “This conference is an excellent forum for sharing new ideas and technologies on how to increase production.  It is attended by everyone who makes decisions in the Williston Basin because the opportunities to expand are tremendous.”

Saskatchewan set records for the 2006 calendar year.  A record breaking 761 horizontal wells were drilled beating the previous record of 668 set in 1997.  Crude oil production totalled 24.84 million cubic metres, slightly more than the 2001 record of 24.75.  A total of over 9.58 billion cubic metres of natural gas was produced, breaking 2005’s record of 9.49 billion cubic metres.

The oil and gas industry will provide over $1 billion this year in revenue to the province.  Approximately 27,000 jobs in the province are related directly and indirectly to the oil and gas industry.

Industry investment in new exploration and development for 2006 is estimated to be approximately 20 per cent higher than the year before at $2.7 billion.

The Williston Basin is a petroleum producing region that spans southeastern Saskatchewan, and parts of North and South Dakota, Montana and Manitoba.  The conference is co-sponsored by Industry and Resources, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources and the North Dakota Petroleum Council. Its venue alternates between the two jurisdictions each year.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Jennifer Redston
Industry and Resources
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1691
Email: jredston@ir.gov.sk.ca