The latest numbers from the provincial government show the oil and gas sector could be on the rebound. In the first quarter of 2017, 853 wells were drilled. In the same timeframe, 399 were drilled in 2016.

The Estevan and Weyburn area saw 253 wells being drilled between January 1st and the end of March. This includes vertical and horizontal wells.

Dustin Duncan is the minister of energy and resources, as well as the MLA for Weyburn-Big Muddy. He said the numbers bode well for the industry as a whole.

“I think it just shows there is a renewed and returning optimism to the sector, and people are getting back to work,” Duncan related. The people returning back to work was evident in the last labour force numbers released from Statistics Canada. While overall, Saskatchewan lost 5,100 jobs from February to March of this year, it did gain jobs in the oil and gas sector, especially in the southeast.

Duncan elaborated that having such a good start to the year could mean a big year for many companies. “We know that companies have drilling plans in place for 2017, that we think will be pretty solid in terms of the overall numbers.”

In 2016, 1648 wells were started. This was a ten percent decline from 2015. The number of wells so far this year is good news for many, according to Duncan.

“When we’re comparing where we are just in the first three months of 2017 to where we were all of last year, certainly we’re on the right track to exceed last year’s number.”