The Peace region continues to see more applications for wells to be drilled under the province’s new royalty framework. It technically doesn’t come into effect until January 1, 2017, but the government started to allow early adoption for wells that otherwise wouldn’t have been drilled this year back in July.
Since then, 129 new wells have been approved, many of which are in the Grande Prairie area. Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd maintains that the uptake so far proves that changes to the royalty system will make Alberta more attractive for investment. She adds that each well supports around 135 direct and indirect jobs, and about $4.5 million in spending.