Chill in the air for Canadian drillers

Labour day heralded the unofficial start of the Canadian drilling season. This year it’s beginning amid uncertainty

There's no shortage of causes for concern as producers grapple with the double uncertainty of oil and natural gas prices. Add in continued political and regulatory uncertainty over US relations, cancelled liquefied natural gas projects on the west coast and the Trans Mountain pipeline delay, and it all makes for a depressing scenario heading into the usually frenetic season. Unlike the US, drilling in Canada is overwhelmingly tied to the fall and winter months when the ground freezes hard enough to support trucks and equipment. In fact, many of the country's unconventional basins, such as the prolific Montney fields of northeastern British Columbia, are winter-access only due to lack of pave