Obsidian Energy completed its Q4 2024 drilling program in Alberta with four rigs in operation – three drilling rigs in our Peace River area and one in our Willesden Green area. In 2024, a total of 66 operated wells were rig released (including five oilsands exploration wells) and 65 operated wells were brought on production by the end of the year (including seven wells from its 2023 program). The three wells yet to be placed on production at year-end were brought onstream in early January. Obsidian Energy also participated in the rig release of 18 non-operated wells in 2024, two of which were water injection wells.
Six new wells were brought on production over the last two weeks of December 2024 and are in the process of clean up and/or optimization (four wells in the Bluesky formation and one in the Clearwater formation at Peace River, and one well targeting the Belly River formation at Willesden Green).
In January, three Bluesky wells from the 2024 program were placed on production and three existing, winter access Clearwater wells at Nampa and Gift Lake in Peace River were restarted. Obsidian’s H1 2025 development program started in January with five rigs active in Peace River drilling in the Clearwater and Bluesky formations, and one rig in the Pembina (Cardium) asset.
The Dawson Clearwater development field program continued to produce at higher rates than initially forecasted over Q4 2024, allowing a faster pace of development than anticipated. The company intends to continue developing this area in 2025 and has constructed additional pads for future drilling.
The two exploration/appraisal wells at the Dawson 9-21 Pad in a recently discovered field exceeded production expectations with a gross average 30-day IP rate of 269 boe/d (100% oil) per well of a higher-quality oil (API gravity of approximately 16O). With over 25 follow-up locations (unbooked, internally generated) identified in proximity to the 9-21 Pad, the company plans to further develop this new Clearwater field as they evaluate the potential western extension of the Clearwater formation trend at Dawson.
The three well (3.0 net) Peavine 8-13 Pad located within the Peavine Metis Settlement area was rig released in 2024 and produced at a gross average IP 30-day rate of 302 boe/d (100% oil) per well. These wells extend our Dawson trend eastward into the Peavine settlement and will be followed up with additional drilling in 2025.
Obsidian rig released our first Gift Lake well at the 13-33 Pad within the Gift Lake Metis Settlement area in December, successfully testing a second, lower Clearwater zone that establishes the lower Clearwater sand’s potential to add future well inventory and expand this play. In addition, Obsidian brought the existing two acquired wells at the 13-33 Pad back on production. We are currently drilling the second exploration/appraisal well at the 4-15 Pad in the Gift Lake area to test the eastern extent of the field, which is expected on production in late January.
In Q4 2024, the company resumed production at the Nampa 6-28 Pad, a winter access only exploration/appraisal well drilled in early 2024, with encouraging initial early oil rates. In late December 2024, they commenced drilling an offset well to this pad to further delineate our Nampa acreage.
Obsidian has now drilled pads across our Walrus development field to determine the extent of the field and better understand reservoir complexity. New wells have provided mixed results with shallower declines, but higher water volumes and slightly lower IP rates than originally expected.
Offsetting existing strong producing pads, both pads drilled in the second half 2024 program at Cadotte were rig released and placed on production in December. Individual well clean up can be prolonged in the Cadotte area as oil viscosity and water saturation are typically higher than seen elsewhere in our Peace River asset, requiring additional water management prior to realizing stabilized oil rates. The results from these development wells will be used to further delineate and unlock future potential in the Cadotte area.
The company’s H2 2024 light oil capital program with one drilling rig at Willesden Green, which then moved to Pembina to spud the first well in the 2025 capital program, offsetting successful pads from the 2024 program.