The Bowser and Sustut basins are Interior Basins of Jurassic and Cretaceous age in north-central British Columbia. They have been under-explored in terms of hydrocarbon resources because of widespread misperceptions of their prospectivity, largely due to the reconnaissance nature of all geoscience work there until recently. This project is focussed on specific, detailed, energy resource studies which will complement an existing regional GSC project titled "Integrated Petroleum Resource Potential and Geoscience Studies of the Bowser and Sustut Basins".

Four elements of the project are:

1. sample, analyse, and prepare and publish reports of data and interpretation, for Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology (AFTT) of the southern basins;
2. sample, analyse, and prepare and publish reports of data and interpretation, for petroleum generation, migration, and entrapment studies;
3. conduct fieldwork, sample, analyse results, and prepare and publish reports for detailed study of the early Bowser Basin history and structural development;
4. data management, integration, and digital publication.

The third element will provide detailed field data on the important early history and geometry of the basin. The fourth element on data management, integration, and publication is critical because communication of data and interpretations are key to attracting investment to the region.

The sample analysis and interpretation aspects of this proposal are studies critical to understanding petroleum systems in sedimentary basins, which is an essential element of a geoscience/resource framework on which to base sound exploration decisions.

Posters and Presentations

2007 : New Data on Cooling History of the Southern Bowser Basin, Deformation and Early Basin Sedimentation in the Northern Bowser Basin, and Progress on Digital Field Data Compilation
- Mineral Exploration Roundup Poster (pdf, 7.28MB)

2006 : Targeted Energy Resource Studies in the Bowser and Sustut Interior Basins of British Columbia
- Mineral Exploration Roundup Poster (pdf, 3.80MB)

Technical Articles

2006 : "Stratigraphic Record of Initiation of Sedimentation in the Bowser Basin (NTS 104A, H), Northwestern British Columbia"
- Geological Fieldwork 2006, Paper 2007-1 p.275-284 (pdf, 2.97MB)

2006 : "Structural Overprinting in the Northwestern Skeena Fold Belt (NTS 104B, H), Northwestern British Columbia"
- Geological Fieldwork 2006, Paper 2007-1 p.325-332 (pdf, 4.74MB)

2005 : "Targeted Energy-Resource Studies in the Bowser and Sustut Interior Basins of British Columbia"
- Geological Fieldwork 2005, Paper 2006-1 p.281-286 (pdf, 2.40MB)

2005: "Initiation and Deformation of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Bowser Basin: Implications for Hydrocarbon Exploration in North-Central British Columbia"
- Geological Fieldwork 2005, Paper 2006-1 p.349-360 (pdf, 4.16MB)

Final Deliverables

Geoscience BC Report 2006-2 (Open File 5332)

Apatite fission track data for twenty-nine rock samples from the southern Bowser Basin region

Geoscience BC Report 2009-19 / GSC Open File 5332 / BC MEMPR Petroleum Geology Open File 2009-05

Apatite Fission Track Data for Seventeen Rock Samples from the Bowser and Sustut Basins, British Columbia

Links to Geological Survey of Canada maps produced as part of the larger collaborative project
("Integrated Petroleum Resource Potential and Geoscience Studies of the Bowser and Sustut Basins")

• Geology, Bowser Lake, British Columbia (Open File 5706)
• Geology, McEvoy Flats, British Columbia (Open File 5734)
• Geology, Mount Beirnes, British Columbia (Open File 5735)
• Geology, Konigus Creek, British Columbia (Open File 5736)
• Geology, Mount Alger, British Columbia (Open File 5737)