The oil and gas sector has taken a big hit during COVID-19, but the province's minister of energy and resources feels things are looking up.

Bronwyn Eyre talked about what oil production would normally be this time of year.

"Normally we would have 30 to 50 rigs in the province, mostly for oil, as of mid-July we had only one rig drilling for helium. Since then there has been a bit increase, we have around 8 drilling right now, is my understanding."

Eyre said the oil and gas industry is a very important economic driver. 

"Fifteen per cent of the GDP is generated by the oil and gas sector, we must stand with the workers, as around 34 thousand people are employed in Saskatchewan in the oil and gas sector. And it's about getting back on track, we are starting to see positive signs, and hope those signs continue to grow into a comeback into this incredibly important sector in our province.

"Production is slowly starting to rise, as 395 thousand barrels of oil were produced in June, and it's anticipated the numbers in July when they come in should be higher, which is positive."