As the producing well distribution map shows, the first three Petro Ninja – Enlighten Geoscience Wells of the Week to focus on plays related to the Peace River Arch (Granite Wash, Gilwood and Slave Point) were discovered at a significant distance from the Arch itself. The Leduc was the first play to be anchored firmly to the flank of the Arch. This week we look at two early discoveries in this play. Just a little over 2 years after the Leduc No. 1 discovery kicked off the modern oil and gas [Read more]
Well of the Week – Enough with the Devonian clastics
This Petro Ninja - Enlighten Geoscience Well of the Week focuses on the Slave Point, the next rung on our climb up through the discoveries related to the Peace River Arch. The Slave Point is a reefal carbonate complex along the fringe of the Peace River Arch and is often in the shadow of the Swan Hills, its more prolific equivalent, which developed along the West Alberta Ridge. As an aside, if you asked me what I enjoy most about putting together these posts, it would be how the research [Read more]
Well of the Week – Sometimes you are on a roll
The story is often told of how Imperial Oil had drilled 133 dry holes in a row and was ready to give up on western Canada before the Leduc discovery in 1947. But that was the start of an age of discovery in Alberta. One Devonian reef pool after another. Then the Cardium in 1953. The hits kept coming. One particular discovery in 1954 showed that they were on a roll: the Gilwood. A Basement test at 100/01-09-073-18W5/00 that found oil in fluvio-deltaic sands flanking the Peace River Arch [Read more]
Well of the Week – In the beginning was the Granite Wash
To a large degree, the history of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin reflects its structural features - the West Alberta Ridge, the Meadow Lake Escarpment and the Sweetgrass Arch to name a few. But if someone says, “The Arch,” it is almost certainly the Peace River Arch they are referring to. The Arch defines the WCSB as much as any other feature. At its highest point, the Peace River Arch rose over a kilometre from the sea floor to emerge as a significant land mass. The [Read more]
Well of the Week – Wells that make you go “hmmm…” No. I
Last week, I closed out the resource play series emphasizing that it is the rocks that define our plays and how much more we need to learn about the subsurface. This week the Petro Ninja Enlighten Geoscience Well of the Week introduces an intermittent series that will highlight wells illustrating the continuing imperative to understand the geology. Maybe these wells point out operational hazards. Other times the focus will be on exploration leads that could be followed up on. I call these [Read more]
Well of the Week – Resource play wrap-up
I have been building the case over the past 10 or so weeks that Resource Plays have been the primary drivers behind the growth of the western Canadian oil and gas industry. The most recent post with links to all of the articles can be found here. These plays burst on the scene using the technology of the day. They didn’t wait for the advent of horizontal multi-stage fractured wells. In this regard, they aren’t “unconventional plays” but just the plays we have been exploiting for decades. These [Read more]
Well of the Week – A tale of two basins
This is the 11th and penultimate post in our series detailing how resource plays (basin-wide plays where hydrocarbons are the continuous phase) have often driven the Canadian oil and gas industry throughout its history. Links to the previous posts are provided at the bottom of this article. Resource Play: East and West Shale Basin Duvernay Type Wells: See discussion below. Drilling/Completion Technology: rotary/horizontal/multi-stage hydraulically fractured Before diving into a look [Read more]
Well of the Week – No need to balk in this Saskatchewan play
This Well of the Week continues our series on the Resource Plays (basin-wide plays where hydrocarbons are the continuous phase) that have led the Canadian oil and gas industry. For the tenth WotW we traverse from the vicinity of the BC/NWT boundary and headway, way to the southeast to Viewfield Saskatchewan. Viewfield is the site of the first significant Canadian application of multi-stage fracturing in horizontal oil wells. Links to the previous posts are provided at the bottom of this [Read more]
Well of the Week – Another resource play horns in
The last WotW focused on CBM, a shallow low pressure, dry gas play in the midst of well-developed infrastructure. Now we hop way up north to the Horn River Basin and have a look at the Evie - Otter Park - Muskwa (frequently referred to as the Horn River) play. This is the ninth post in a series detailing how resource plays (basin-wide plays where hydrocarbons are the continuous phase) have often driven the Canadian oil and gas industry throughout its history. Links to the previous posts are [Read more]
Well of the Week – And now for something completely different
CBM. It's definitely not the Montney. This is the eighth post in a series detailing how Resource Plays (basin-wide plays where hydrocarbons are the continuous phase) have usually driven the Canadian oil and gas industry. Links to the rest of the series may be found at the bottom of this article. Resource Play: Horseshoe Canyon Coal Bed Methane Type Well: 100/08-11-041-22W4/02 Drilling/Completion Technology: Rotary/Vertical/Hydraulically Fractured While the Montney play was [Read more]
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