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We used to drill a well in Saskatchewan in 10 days, now we drill it in five

Bigger picture, innovation is needed because businesses recognize that they are on the cusp of seeing a new set of industry rules since cheap energy is abundant and competition from new sources is increasing, said Peter Tertzakian, executive director at the ARC Research Institute.

He said past recoveries were about higher oil and gas prices, but any recovery today is about being a low-cost producer and/or offering a better product — for example, with less carbon.

One innovative player is Seven Generations Energy Ltd.

Since its IPO three years ago, the company has grown production sevenfold from the massive Montney play to nearly 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily in the fourth quarter, and is on a trajectory to produce 300,000 boe/d by 2022.

Photo by Seven Generations Energy Ltd.

How? By pushing the limits of drilling, completion and production techniques.

Chief executive Marty Proctor said the next step is to use data science, now in its early days, to create even cheaper wells that produce more, thereby further reducing costs.

“We want to be as competitive as possible,” he said. “Will you find oil from information only? No. You need good rock as well. But it will certainly enhance how much we can recover.”

Seven Generations’ explosive growth has enabled it to hire while others are shrinking their headcounts. It now employs 170 full-time employees and more than 1,000 contract workers. More staff will be added in 2018.

Seven Generations' explosive growth has enabled it to hire while others are shrinking their headcounts

The company also moved into a new office it subleased at a bargain price from another company that was sold. That’s the upside of a 30-per-cent office vacancy rate in downtown Calgary due to the departure and downsizing of scores of oilpatch companies.