The Canadian oil patch has been sucker punched by the current downtown. Flights to Calgary from the U.S. have open seats, lines at border control are virtually nonexistent, and downtown hotels and restaurants are eerily empty.

According to Baker Hughes, Canada currently has 184 working rigs; fourth-quarter averages in 2014 and 2013 were 397 and 388, respectively. With the laydown of all this iron, and project cutbacks and cancellations, the human toll has been dreadful. A recent report on CBC News detailed a surge in people filing for unemployment benefits in Alberta. Across the province, the number of people receiving benefits doubled, from 29,150 in September 2014 to 57,980 in September 2015. And more layoffs affecting Calgarians were announced in October and November—from such firms as Enbridge, TransCanada and ATCO Group. Neighboring Saskatchewan has also experienced a spike in unemployment claims of some 30% year-over-year.

And yet, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin is a vast and prolific petroleum province. There are plays that still make sense, said Kaush Rakhit, president, Canadian Discovery, in a speech at the SPE/CSUR Unconventional Resources Conference in Calgary. The Viking, Montney and Spirit River are the most active plays, while the Saskatchewan Bakken is holding steady and the Duvernay is developing.

Interestingly, the rather pedestrian Viking ranks as one of the most popular plays, said Rakhit. The Viking is a Lower Cretaceous tight-sand reservoir located in south-central Alberta. Activity is dominated by juniors and intermediates, and they have drilled about 1,000 wells in 2014, and about 500 through the first nine months of 2015.

Overall, the clastic reservoir offers pay thicknesses of between five and 10 meters, and the average well produces at unremarkable rates of less than 100 barrels per day. But, when looked at through the lens of dollars invested per barrel produced, the play does well. That’s thanks to very low costs—operators spend C$300,000 to drill an average 1,525-meter Viking well with a 630-meter lateral, and another C$400,000 to complete it in some 17 small frack stages.

“The Viking is the most active play in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, and it is also the lowest-cost play,” said Rakhit. Prominent operators include privately held Spur Resources and public firms Penn West Petroleum, Crescent Point Energy and Whitecap Resources. Canadian Discovery analysis shows that the play is still evolving—completion stages are increasing and operators continue to pare down costs.

The well-known Triassic Montney play also remains active. This reservoir delivers the most bang for the buck, with the best metrics among Western Canadian plays for dollars invested versus barrels equivalent produced. These are big wells—recoveries can range up to 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) per well, although a range between 750,000 to 1.5 MMboe is more typical.

Most drilling in British Columbia is focused on the Montney, and majors and intermediates are the main operators.

In 2014, the industry drilled nearly 600 Montney wells, and some 250 through the first three quarters of 2015. A play of great geographic extent, the Montney offers oil- and gas/condensate-prone areas. The drilling and completion strategies vary for each, with average costs of C$3.8 million for the former and C$8.3 million for the latter.

The Spirit River Formation (of which the Notikewin, Falher and Wilrich are members) is another Lower Cretaceous play that remains interesting. The play has moved downdip from earlier areas of emphasis in western Alberta, and is now tightly focused on sweet spots, said Rakhit. The reservoir is being developed by majors and intermediates, including such firms as Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips and Bona­vista Energy.

Some 300 Spirit River wells were drilled in 2014, and nearly 150 had been drilled in 2015 through October. Average well costs are running C$4 million, and are still decreasing. The 4,300-meter wells typically feature 1,270-meter laterals completed in 13 stages.

Technology is making nice gains in the Spirit River, noted Rakhit, with well productivity improving steadily. The pluses of the play include high IP rates, excellent net pay thickness (about 120 meters) and strong flow rates per dollar invested.

So don’t count the True North out just yet. “Drilling and completion technologies continue to evolve, and the WCSB is underexplored. There is still more to discover,” said Rakhit.

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