Canadian natural gas and oil drilling should expand  in 2022 at a brisk pace that tops activity in 2019, before Covid-19 disrupted the industry, according to the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.

Suncor rig

A new forecast by the industry group is projecting there will be 5,400 Canadian wells in 2022, up from 5,100 in 2019, 2,850 in 2020 and 4,650 this year.

“Global supply-demand imbalances are leading to higher commodity prices, and we expect drilling activity to increase out of necessity,” said President Gurpreet Lail.

In the coming year, the well count is predicted to increase in every Canadian production area. The well count is forecast to swell to 3,125 in Alberta, 1,495 in Saskatchewan, 605 in British Columbia (BC), 160 in Manitoba, and 15 in the Eastern Canadian...