Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the country’s largest producer of natural gas and conventional heavy oil, has declared that it will additionally invest $50m to drill 123 new heavy oil wells, 5 new light wells, and 11 thermal oil wells, in the second half of 2016, wrote Financial Post.

Even though this additional spending is a small fraction of the company’s overall budget, which is believed to be between $3.5 and $3.9b, this investment evokes a renewed confidence in Canada’s oil and gas sector, badly affected by the global oil price slump.

According to The Globe and Mail, the President of Canadian Natural Resources, Steve Laut, said that his company will increase production to more than 1mboe/d in the next three years, if the oil prices bolster.

He added that if the company sees oil price at a sustainable level of $60 per barrel  and natural gas prices above $3 per 1GJ, it would spend about $4.5b a year in capital spending in the period between 2017 and 2019.