Birchcliff Energy continues to demonstrate why its Montney and Doig acreage remains among the most productive and technically attractive natural gas assets in Western Canada. As 2025 progresses, the company’s operating performance, drilling efficiency, and production results highlight a disciplined, high-performance gas development program at scale.
Below is a look at where Birchcliff operates, how drilling performance has evolved, and what recent quarters reveal about operating momentum.
1. Birchcliff’s Core Montney/Doig Development Corridor
Birchcliff’s operations are centered in the Peace River Arch region of northwest Alberta, anchored around:
- Pouce Coupe
- Gordondale
- Progress
- Elmworth / Montney D1–D4 benches
- Doig Phosphate and Doig Upper formations
This corridor sits on some of the most laterally continuous, siltstone-rich Montney rock in Western Canada — rock that consistently delivers:
- Strong permeability
- Predictable frac response
- High deliverability per lateral foot
- Multizone development potential
The area’s geology enables long horizontals, higher-intensity completions, and stacked-pay exploitation, making it ideal for repeatable, factory-style development.
2. Strong Drilling & Completion Performance
Birchcliff significantly increased drilling efficiency across its 2024–2025 program. The company is delivering more meters drilled per day at a lower cost per foot, while increasing contact with the reservoir through longer laterals and more frac stages.
Key operational improvements:
- Drill speed up 36% compared to 2023
- Drilling cost per foot down ~26%
- Laterals extended by ~8% on average
- 7 fracs per 10–12.5 m stage (higher intensity)
- DCCET costs reduced from ~$7.4MM/well to ~$6.9MM/well
These are material gains. Higher frac density and improved drilling consistency mean more rock contact and higher initial production rates.
Production uplift from new completions:
- 30% higher IP-365 performance vs. 2023 wells
- Condensate output up ~81% per well
(a critical cash-flow stabilizer for gas-weighted producers)
These results reflect the combination of improved geoscience modeling, optimized landing zones, and tighter stage spacing.
3. Q3 2025: Strong Production & Low Operating Costs
Birchcliff’s Q3 2025 operations showcase the company’s improved well performance, cost discipline, and growing throughput.
Quarterly production profile:
- 80,406 boe/d
- 82% natural gas
- 9% NGLs
- 7% condensate
- 2% light oil
- +7% year-over-year production growth
Natural gas volumes increased meaningfully, supported by new Montney wells in Pouce Coupe and Gordondale tied in during the quarter.
Operating cost performance:
Birchcliff achieved:
- $2.71/boe operating costs — lowest in company history
- $11.15/boe operating netback (+34% YoY)
This is a standout number among Canadian gas operators of similar scale. The combination of:
- long-reach horizontals
- high-intensity frac design
- strong condensate rates
- efficient field operations
continues to drive down per-unit costs.
4. Market Diversification Strengthens Realized Pricing
While this blog avoids financial content, it is important from an operations standpoint to note how Birchcliff markets its gas, because this directly shapes field-level development decisions.
Birchcliff sells approximately 75% of its gas into U.S.-linked markets:
- Dawn Hub (Ontario)
- NYMEX-linked physical contracts
This strategy consistently delivers:
- Higher realized prices than AECO
- Lower exposure to Western Canadian basis blowouts
- Better cashflow-to-capex recycling for operations
In Q3, the company’s realized price was $3.36/Mcf, reflecting a 387% premium to AECO 5A.
This pricing advantage is a big factor behind Birchcliff’s ability to maintain high activity levels and low operating costs.
5. Capital Program Execution: More Wells for the Same Budget
Birchcliff guided 2025 capital spending to $290–300 million — but due to efficiency gains, the company was able to:
- Drill 3 additional Montney wells within the same budget
- Bring 6 wells on production in Q3
- Accelerate additional tie-ins for Q4
This efficiency matters for two reasons:
- Higher throughput entering winter
- Accelerated cadence toward 2026 production targets
Birchcliff’s strategy remains focused on balancing development pace with infrastructure capacity, ensuring new wells come online into periods of strong gas demand.
6. Production Outlook & Development Momentum
Birchcliff has outlined a multi-year plan to grow both total production and liquids production through continued Montney development.
2025–2026 outlook:
- Continued pad drilling in Pouce Coupe and Gordondale
- Additional Montney D1/D2/D3 bench development
- Growth in condensate-rich zones
- Increased runtime and throughput at gas and NGL processing facilities
- A planned push to ~87,500 boe/d exit rate by YE 2026
This positions the company ahead of its five-year development plan.
7. Why Birchcliff’s Montney Position Stands Out
What differentiates their asset base:
- Stacked-pay Montney/Doig
- High-quality, high-perm siltstone
- Predictable drilling windows
- Low water-handling costs
- Strong condensate uplift
- Ability to scale long laterals
- Access to premium North American markets
Birchcliff’s land base sits in one of the most repeatable, technically advantaged, and infrastructure-rich gas corridors in North America.
Conclusion: Birchcliff Remains a High-Performance Montney Operator
With record-low operating costs, repeatable well performance, upgraded drilling efficiencies, and strong production growth, Birchcliff Energy continues to execute one of the most consistent Montney development programs in Western Canada.
The company enters 2026 with:
- A growing production base
- Higher-intensity completions delivering stronger wells
- Expanded gas processing capacity
- A diversified marketing footprint
- A clear multi-year development runway
Birchcliff’s Montney and Doig operations remain a powerful example of how technical execution, disciplined capital allocation, and high-quality rock combine to drive sustained operational momentum.
