Birchcliff Energy and Painted Pony Petroleum have beefed up their capital spending forecasts for 2016, allowing for more than a dozen new wells to be drilled in the region.
According to the Daily Oil Bulletin, Birchcliff has approved a revised capital budget of $163.7 million this year, up from $122.5 million previously planned. It's a result of the company's recent acquisition of Encana's Gordondale assets near Pouce Coupe.
The revised plan contemplates drilling a total of 23 wells, an increase from 13 wells under the original capital program. It also includes the funding of key infrastructure required for future growth, including the company’s PCS gas plant, the Bulletin reports.
Of the 10 new wells, four are in the Pouce Coupe area with another six in the Gordondale area in Alberta. Birchcliff expects the wells to be completed and brought into production in 2017.
Birchcliff drilled four wells in the second quarter of 2016, all in the Pouce Coupe area.
Meanwhile, Painted Pony expects capital spending this year to total $199 million, up from $179 million.
The $20 million increase will allow for six new wells to be drilled and two others to be completed. The company expects to drill 14 wells and complete 13 this year as it ramps up production at the Townsend facility near Wonowon, which began operations in July more than a month ahead of schedule.
Painted Pony spent $35.3 million in the second quarter of this year to drill five wells and complete 10 others, while also financing facility infrastructure.
The company's year-to-date capital program of $102.4 million included 17 wells drilled and 19 wells completed.
--with files from Daily Oil Bulletin
