Ovintiv Adds 240 Drilling Locations in $460M Land Buying Spree
Ovintiv has quietly closed more than 60 separate land deals in 2026 worth roughly $460 million combined, World Oil reports, adding about 41,000 net acres and 240 drilling locations across its Permian and Montney positions. The buying spree is part of Ovintiv’s 2026 “ground game” program, which targets smaller bolt-on transactions to bulk up existing acreage rather than chase big-ticket M&A.
In the Permian, Ovintiv spent about $230 million to add roughly 21,000 net acres and 120 well locations in the Midland basin, including 80 base and 40 upside locations. It matched that with another $230 million in Canada’s Montney, picking up about 20,000 net acres and 120 locations in the liquids-rich Alberta oil window, split between 110 base and 10 upside locations. Ovintiv pegs the cost at roughly $11,000 per net acre and $1.3 million to $1.7 million per well location. Combined with 260 locations from organic inventory work, the company expects total 2026 additions to hit approximately 500 net well locations, with remaining deals in the program set to close before year-end.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Midland basin drilling and completion crews should watch for permit activity tied to the 120 new Ovintiv well locations, since base inventory (80 locations) typically moves to spud faster than upside acreage.
- Montney-focused pressure pumping, HDD, and pipeline construction firms in Alberta’s oil window have a concrete signal in the 110 base locations Ovintiv just secured, pointing to multi-year completion demand rather than a one-off spike.
- With deals still closing through year-end, procurement teams for rig, trucking, and E&I subcontractors should track Ovintiv’s next quarterly update for confirmation on which of the 500 total net locations convert to actual drilling programs in 2027.
