2012 drilling forecast revised downward

Warm weather, weak natural gas prices and a shortage of skilled labour is being blamed for a reduction in drilling activity.

The Petroleum Services Association of Canada says instead of 15 thousand wells being drilled this year, 13,350 is a more realistic number.

That's a drop of 11 per cent.

PSAC President and CEO Mark Salkeld tells 660News, another thing creating a drag on activity is the complexity of the wells being drilled.

Salkeld says they can't control the weather or commodity prices, but they are working on addressing the looming labour shortage for the industry.

He says despite the apparent setback drilling and service companies are not complaining.