Grande Prairie has become Canada’s most important natural gas growth engine. What was once a frontier play is now a globally competitive Montney manufacturing hub, supplying LNG Canada, U.S. Gulf Coast exports, and North American power demand.
To understand who is really driving this growth, we analyzed actual wells drilled — not permits, budgets, or press releases — across the Grande Prairie region. This creates a pure execution ranking of which operators are deploying rigs, crews, and capital on the ground right now.
By layering in field location, terminating formation, substance type, and drilling contractor, we can see not just who is drilling, but how each company is competing — whether it’s ARC and Tourmaline scaling Kakwa gas, CNRL expanding Wembley Montney, or Ovintiv and Birchcliff industrializing high-rate gas development.
This is the real map of Canada’s gas supply chain as it feeds the next decade of LNG exports and power demand.
Operator Snapshots
1) ARC Resources — 99 wells
- Field: Kakwa
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
ARC is running the largest Montney gas factory in Canada. Kakwa is its crown jewel, supplying LNG-linked gas volumes at massive scale with Precision as its core drilling partner.
2) Tourmaline Oil — 70 wells
- Field: Kakwa
- Zone: Spirit River
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
Tourmaline is optimizing liquids-rich gas zones alongside Montney drilling, giving it some of the highest margins in the basin.
3) CNRL — 67 wells
- Field: Wembley
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
CNRL is transforming from oil sands into a major LNG-linked gas producer, with Wembley emerging as a strategic Montney anchor.
4) Ovintiv — 48 wells
- Field: Kakwa
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
Ovintiv is running a high-productivity, high-capital Montney program designed to generate free cash flow from export-grade gas.
5) Birchcliff Energy — 43 wells
- Field: Pouce Coupe
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
Birchcliff is one of the most efficient mid-cap gas producers in Canada, drilling repeatable Montney inventory at low cost.
6) Pine Cliff Energy — 36 wells
- Field: Wembley
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
Pine Cliff is aggressively re-leveraging into gas growth, expanding Montney exposure to ride LNG pricing.
7) Paramount Resources — 35 wells
- Field: Kakwa
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
Paramount is building one of the highest-deliverability gas positions in Western Canada, targeting premium LNG-linked supply.
8) NuVista Energy — 32 wells
- Field: Kakwa
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Precision Drilling
NuVista is a pure-play Montney growth company, focused on high-pressure, high-rate gas wells.
9) Kelt Exploration — 31 wells
- Field: Wembley
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Horizon Drilling
Kelt is a nimble Montney developer, steadily expanding production with capital discipline.
10) Advantage Energy — 28 wells
- Field: Pouce Coupe
- Zone: Montney
- Substance: Gas
- Drilling Provider: Horizon Drilling
Advantage is focused on high-efficiency dry gas, positioning itself as a long-term LNG supply partner.
Why this matters
Every operator in Grande Prairie is drilling gas, but not all gas is equal. The companies at the top of this list control the Montney corridors that will feed LNG Canada, Cedar LNG, and U.S. exports for the next 20 years — making this one of the most strategic drilling regions in North America.
