Once again, the Petro Ninja – Enlighten Geoscience Well of the Week celebrates the spirit of exploration. Sometimes you find a massive field and sometimes, you add to the knowledge base (aka a “science well”). Even efforts that are, perhaps, a bit misguided deserve a mention. Such is the case with Duncan Exploration Inc.’s Moyie #1 well.
Whether it is the first oil well in western Canada or a gas well in one of western Canada’s largest gas fields, companies have experienced a lot of success drilling through or adjacent to the Precambrian sediments carried by the Lewis Thrust. So, it is not surprising to see an intrepid explorer testing a location beneath a Precambrian overthrust. But perhaps Duncan Exploration went a bit too far west by drilling (200/D-008-C/082-G-05/00) just south of Moyie Lake in the Purcell area of British Columbia. Maybe they were taking advantage of some long-forgotten exploration incentives. Maybe they were unaware of the work of Bally et al. (1966).
Regardless of their rationale for drilling they get full marks for persevering to a total depth of 3,476m in the Precambrian Aldridge formation, running a full log suite and even a few drillstem tests. But that does not change the fact that they drilled almost 3,500 m of metasedimentary rocks and gabbros. There was no reservoir. No pay. But there is a particularly useful control point for the authors of the Structural Geology chapter of Atlas 2027.
Figure 1. Geological map of southeastern BC and southwestern AB. Moyie #1 well is in the southwest corner along the Moyie Anticline. (after Ainsworth (2009)).
Figure 2. Seismic profile across the Moyie #1 location. Ainsworth (2009).
All that is left now is the old lease which has been repurposed as a community baseball field named Ellis Park. If you are driving along Highway 3 to enjoy the West Kootenays and would like to take a look, it is a short detour off the highway.
Figure 3. Location map of the Duncan Exploration Moyie #1 well. (Courtesy of Petro Ninja).
Figure 4. Your correspondent standing atop the Moyie #1 location. As located with the assistance of Flavia the Wonder Dog (and GPS).
Reference
Ainsworth, H. L., 2009. Structure of the Moyie Anticline delineated on a grid of reflection seismic profiles in southeastern British Columbia. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Calgary. [accessed 2024-03-11 https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/thesescanada/vol2/002/MR54501.PDF?is_thesis=1&oclc_number=695977993]
Bally, A.W., Gordy, P.L., and Stewart, G.A. 1966. Structure, seismic data and orogenic evolution of the southern Canadian Rockies. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, v. 14, p. 337-381.