Geoscience Projects in the Nechako Basin to Be Highlighted at CSPG Conference in Calgary

May 8, 2008- Geoscience BC and the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources (MEMPR) are pleased to announce that the joint annual convention of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG), Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG) and Canadian Well Logging Society (CWLS) in Calgary will include seven presentations (including posters) on the oil and gas potential of B.C.'s Nechako Basin located west of Williams Lake and Quesnel.

Three of the presentations will report results from a GBC-funded study led by Dr. Peter Mustard (Simon Fraser University) and Dr. Brian Mahoney (University of Wisconsin -- Eau Claire) that examines the reservoir potential of Cretaceous age strata that are found on the southern flank of Nechako Basin and may extend beneath the volcanic rocks that cover much of the basin (GBC Project 2006-014):

  • Stratigraphic Analysis of Cretaceous Strata flanking the Southern Nechako Basin: Constraining basin Architecture and Reservoir Potential (P. Mustard, J.B. Mahoney, J.R. Goodin, C.I. MacLaurin and J. Haggart)
  • Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, and Reservoir Potential of the Lower Cretaceous Jackass Mountain Group, Camelsfoot Range, British Columbia, Canada (J.R. Goodin, P. Mustard, J.B. Mahoney and J. Haggart)
  • Stratigraphic Analysis of the Cretaceous Taylor Creek Group Along the Southern Margin of the Chilcotin Plateau: Potential Linkage Between the Methow and Tyaughton basins (M. Forgette, J.B. Mahoney, C.I. MacLaurin, P. Mustard and J. Haggart)

Two additional projects are evaluating the ability of geophysical techniques to identify and map sedimentary rocks under the extensive volcanic cover. A project led by Dr. Andrew Calvert (Simon Fraser University, GBC Project 2006-002) is focused on reinterpreting seismic data collected by Canadian Hunter in the 1980s, while a project led by Dr. Jim Craven (Natural Resources Canada, GBC Project 2006-016), and also funded by MEMPR, has acquired modern magnetotelluric data in the northern part of the basin.

  • Structure of the South-Eastern Nechako Basin, British Columbia: Results of Seismic Interpretation and First-Arrival Tomographic Inversion (N. Hayward and A. Calvert)
  • Initial Results of a Test Survey in the Nechako Basin, B.C. Designed to Determine the Usefulness of the Magnetotelluric Method in Oil and Gas Exploration (J. Spratt and J. Craven)

Geologists from MEMPR have been working in the interior basins of British Columbia for several years, and will present the latest results on potential source horizons within the Interior Basins and constraints on reservoir quality within sequences of the Nechako Basin. Filippo Ferri of the Resource Development and Geoscience Branch (RDGB) has been collecting regional geochemical data within the Interior of the province on Early to Middle Jurassic clastic rocks which suggest the presence of a widespread organic-rich horizon. Janet Riddell, also with RDGB, will present the results of a reservoir study of surface and subsurface units within the southern Nechako Basin.

  • Geochemistry of Lower and Middle Jurassic Organic-Rich Sediments within the Intermontane Basins of British Columbia: A Potential Regional Source Horizon? (F. Ferri and J. Riddell)
  • Reservoir in the Nechako Basin (J. Riddell, D. Brown, J. Simpson and H. Daniels)

The joint CSPG-CSEG-CWLS annual convention will be held in Calgary from May 12 to 15, 2008.

Resource Development and Geoscience Branch

The Resource Development and Geoscience Branch (RDGB) is part of the Oil and Gas Division within the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. RDGB was created in 2002 to undertake oil and gas related geoscience projects to further our understanding of these important resources and to promote resource potential to the exploration industry. RDGB has expertise in coalbed gas, shale gas, the Interior Basins and the regional geological framework of the province. In addition to projects undertaken by staff members, RDGB commissions studies through external consultants or funds research projects through universities.

About Geoscience BC

Geoscience BC is an industry-led, industry-focused, non-profit organization. Its mandate includes the collection, interpretation and delivery of geoscience data and expertise to promote investment in resource exploration and development in British Columbia. Geoscience BC works in partnership with industry, academia, government, First Nations and communities to attract mineral and oil & gas investment to B.C.

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