Fracking in Canada was first used in Alberta in 1953 to extract hydrocarbons from the giant
Pembina oil field
The Pembina oil field is one of the largest and most prolific conventional oil fields in the province of Alberta, Canada.
The mature field is centered on Drayton Valley and is named for the Pembina River, which crosses the region from southwest to ...
, the biggest conventional oil field in Alberta, which would have produced very little oil without fracturing. Since then, over 170,000 oil and gas wells have been fractured in Western Canada.
Fracking is a process that stimulates natural gas or oil in
wellbore
A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petrole ...
s to flow more easily by subjecting
hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...
reservoirs to pressure through the injection of fluids or gas at depth causing the rock to fracture or to widen existing cracks.
New hydrocarbon production areas have been opened as fracking stimulating techniques are coupled with more recent advances in
horizontal drilling
Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal dir ...
. Complex wells that are many hundreds or thousands of metres below ground are extended even further through drilling of horizontal or directional sections.
Massive fracturing has been widely used in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
since the late 1970s to recover gas from low-permeability sandstones such as the
Spirit River Formation. The productivity of wells in the
Cardium,
Duvernay, and
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
formations in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
,
Bakken formation in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
,
Montney and
Horn River
The Horn River is a river in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is a major tributary of the Mackenzie River.
The river gives the name to the Horn River Formation, a shale deposit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Horn River ...
formations in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
would not be possible without fracking technology. Fracking has revitalized legacy oilfields.
"Hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells in
unconventional shale, silt and tight sand reservoirs unlocks gas, oil and liquids production that until recently was not considered possible."
Conventional oil production in Canada was on a decrease since about 2004 but this changed with the increased production from these formations using fracking.
Fracking is one of the primary technologies employed to extract
shale gas
Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and some ...
or
tight gas
Tight gas is natural gas produced from reservoir rocks with such low permeability that massive hydraulic fracturing is necessary to produce the well at economic rates. This natural gas is trapped within rocks with very low permeability, in other ...
from unconventional reservoirs.
In 2012 Canada averaged 356 active drilling rigs, coming in second to the United States with 1,919 active drilling rigs. The United States represents just below 60 percent of worldwide activity.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
,
Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
have banned fracking.
Geological formations
The Spirit River, Cardium, Duvernay, Viking, Montney (AB and BC), and Horn River formations are stratigraphical units of the
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...
(WCSB) which underlies of
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
and which contains one of the world's largest reserves of
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
and
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
. The Montney Formation, located in Northeast British Columbia and West-Central Alberta, and the Duvernay Formation located in central Alberta, are currently the most prospective formations in the WCSB for development of
unconventional oil and gas reservoirs that require hydraulic fracturing stimulations. The Bakken formation is a rock unit of the
Williston Basin
The Williston Basin is a large intracratonic sedimentary basin in eastern Montana, western North Dakota, South Dakota, southern Saskatchewan, and south-western Manitoba that is known for its rich deposits of petroleum and potash. The basin is a ...
that extends into southern Saskatchewan. In the early 2000s significant increase in production the Williston Basin began because of application of
horizontal drilling
Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal dir ...
techniques, especially in the
Bakken Formation.
File:Canada geological map-WCSB.JPG, Outline of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
File:Montney Formation.jpg, Generalized map showing the location of the Montney Formation
The Montney Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Lower Triassic age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in British Columbia and Alberta.
It takes the name from the hamlet of Montney and was first described in Texaco's Buick Creek No. 7 w ...
.
File:Duvernay depositional extent in central Alberta, Canada.tif, Duvernay depositional extent in central Alberta, Canada.
File:North america with-Williston.jpg, North America showing position of Williston Basin
File:WillistonBasinLocation.jpg, Location of Williston Basin (USGS)
Technologies
The first commercial application of hydraulic fracturing was by Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company (Howco) in 1949 in Stephens County, Oklahoma and in Archer
County, Texas, using a blend of crude oil and a
proppant
A proppant is a solid material, typically sand, treated sand or man-made ceramic materials, designed to keep an hydraulic fracturing, induced hydraulic fracture open, during or following a fracturing treatment, most commonly for Unconventional (oi ...
of screened river sand into existing wells with no horizontal drilling.
In the 1950s about of fluid and were used. By 2010 treatments averaged "approximately of fluid and of propping agent, with the largest treatments exceeding of fluid and of proppant."
In 2011 the
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
summarized the history of hydraulic fracturing,
Horizontal oil or gas wells were unusual until the 1980s. Then in the late 1980s, operators along the Texas Gulf Coast began completing thousands of oil wells by drilling horizontally in the
Austin Chalk
The Austin Chalk is an upper Cretaceous geologic formation in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. It is named after type section outcrops near Austin, Texas. The formation is made up of chalk and marl.
Fossils
The putative galloanseran ...
, and giving 'massive' hydraulic fracturing treatments to the wellbores. Horizontal wells proved much more effective than vertical wells in producing oil from the tight chalk.
In the late 1990s in Texas, combining horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing techniques made large-scale commercial shale gas production possible. Since then, shale gas wells have become longer and the number of stages per well has increased.
As shale gas companies target deeper, hotter, more unstable reservoirs, drilling technologies have been developed to tackle challenges in various environments.
In parallel with the advancement in drilling technologies, injection technologies have also seen changes.
Cost and lifespan of hydraulic fracturing
Oil producers spend US$12 million upfront to drill a well but it is so efficient and produces so well during its short, 18-month lifespan, that oil producers using this technology can still make a profit even with oil at $50 a barrel.
Lifespan of hydraulic fracturing:
The lifecycle of shale gas development can vary from a few years to decades and occurs in six major stages, as described by
Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; french: Ressources naturelles Canada; french: RNCan, label=none)Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the dep ...
(NRC), assuming all approvals from the various regulatory authorities have been obtained:
* Stage One: Exploration, which involves applying for the appropriate licenses and permits, leasing the mineral rights, Indigenous consultations, community consultations and geophysical studies, including geological assessments and seismic surveys;
* Stage Two: Site preparation and well construction, which includes exploratory drilling to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of the rock and to assess the quality and quantity of the resource;
* Stage Three: Drilling, which includes horizontal drilling;
* Stage Four: Stimulation, which is the use of hydraulic fracturing to enable the hydrocarbons to flow to the wellbore;
* Stage Five: Well operation and production, which can operate for 10 to 30 years; and,
* Stage Six: End of production and reclamation, which requires the company to properly seal the well, clean and inspect the site. Reclamation occurs over several years as the company remediates any contamination, restores soil profiles, replants native vegetation and any other reclamation work required by local regulations.
Alberta
Because of its vast oil and gas resources, Alberta is the busiest province in terms of hydraulic fracturing. The first well to be fractured in Canada was the discovery well of the giant
Pembina oil field
The Pembina oil field is one of the largest and most prolific conventional oil fields in the province of Alberta, Canada.
The mature field is centered on Drayton Valley and is named for the Pembina River, which crosses the region from southwest to ...
in 1953 and since then over 170,000 wells have been fractured. The Pembina field is a "sweet spot" in the much larger
Cardium Formation, and the formation is still growing in importance as multistage horizontal fracturing is increasingly used.
The
Alberta Geological Survey
The Alberta Geological Survey (AGS), founded in 1921, is the official provincial geological survey of Alberta, Canada and currently operates as a division within the Alberta Energy Regulator. The AGS provides geological information and advice abo ...
evaluated the potential of new fracturing techniques to produce oil and gas from shale formations in the province, and found at least five prospects which show immediate promise: the
Duvernay Formation
The Duvernay Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It was first described in well Anglo Canadian Beaverhill Lake No. 2 in LSD 11-11-50-17W4M by Imperial Oil staff in 1950. The formation w ...
, the
Muskwa Formation, the
Montney Formation
The Montney Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Lower Triassic age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in British Columbia and Alberta.
It takes the name from the hamlet of Montney and was first described in Texaco's Buick Creek No. 7 w ...
, the
Nordegg Member, and the basal
Banff and
Exshaw Formations. These formations may contain up to of gas-in-place.
Between 2012 and 2015, 243 horizontal multistage fractured wells were drilled in the
Duvernay Formation
The Duvernay Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It was first described in well Anglo Canadian Beaverhill Lake No. 2 in LSD 11-11-50-17W4M by Imperial Oil staff in 1950. The formation w ...
producing of
oil equivalent
The tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is a unit of energy defined as the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil. It is approximately 42 gigajoules or 11.630 megawatt-hours, although as different crude oils have different calorifi ...
, distributed in of oil, of
natural-gas condensate
Natural-gas condensate, also called natural gas liquids, is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields. Some gas species within the raw natur ...
, and of
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
.
201 of these wells were drilled in the Kaybob assessment area, whereas 36 wells, were drilled in the Edson-Willesden Green area and 6 wells in the Innisfail area, with horizontal lengths between 1000 and 2800 meters and well spacings between 150 and 450 meters. The development of condensate-rich areas in the
Duvernay formation
The Duvernay Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It was first described in well Anglo Canadian Beaverhill Lake No. 2 in LSD 11-11-50-17W4M by Imperial Oil staff in 1950. The formation w ...
remain steady as the
natural-gas condensate
Natural-gas condensate, also called natural gas liquids, is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields. Some gas species within the raw natur ...
is a key product to dilute the bitumen produced from the closely located
oil sands
Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...
deposits in
Athabasca
Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada.
Athabasca may a ...
,
Peace River
The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...
, and
Cold Lake, and is traded with the same reference price as
WTI oil.
Even as the price of oil declined dramatically in 2014, hydraulic fracturing in so-called "sweet spots" such as the Cardium and Duvernay in Alberta, remained financially viable.
British Columbia
The most shale gas activity in Canada has taken place in the province of British Columbia.
In 2015, 80% of the natural gas production in the province was produced from unconventional sources, where the portion of the Montney Formation located in British Columbia (BC) contributed per day, corresponding to 64.4% of the province's total gas production. This formation contains 56% of the province's recoverable raw gas that corresponds to an estimate of , and the remaining recoverable gas is distributed in other unconventional gas plays as the Liard Basin,
Horn River
The Horn River is a river in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is a major tributary of the Mackenzie River.
The river gives the name to the Horn River Formation, a shale deposit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Horn River ...
Basin, and Cordova Basin, all of them located in the northeast portion of the province.
Talisman Energy
Talisman Energy Inc. was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed between 1993 and 2015. The company was created from the assets of BP Canada after British Petroleum divested its 57 percent stake in June 1992. It was one of Canada ...
, which was acquired by the Spanish company
Repsol
Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31[Originally an init ...]
in 2015, is one operator company that "has extensive operations in the Montney shale gas area."
In late July 2011 the
Government of British Columbia
The Government of British Columbia (french: Gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of British Columbia. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assum ...
gave Talisman Energy, whose head office is in Calgary, a twenty-year long-term water licence to draw water from the
BC Hydro
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exce ...
-owned
Williston Lake
Williston Lake is a reservoir created by the W. A. C. Bennett Dam and is located in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada.
Geography
The lake fills the basin of the upper Peace River, backing into the Rocky Mountain Trench which is ...
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
.
In 2013, the
Fort Nelson First Nation
Treaty 8, which concluded with the June 21, 1899 signing by representatives of the Crown and various First Nations of the Lesser Slave Lake area, is the most comprehensive of the one of eleven Numbered Treaties. The agreement encompassed a la ...
, a remote community in northeastern B.C. with 800 community members, expressed frustration with royalties associated with gas produced through hydraulic fracturing in their territory. Three of British Columbia's four shale-gas reserves – the Horn River, Liard and Cordova Basins are on their lands. "Those basins hold the key to BC's LNG ambitions."
Saskatchewan
![CSUR 4 types oil](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/CSUR_4_types_oil.jpg)
The Bakken shale oil and gas boom underway since 2009, driven by hydraulic fracturing technologies, has contributed to record growth, high employment rates and increase in population, in the province of Saskatchewan. Hydraulic fracturing has benefited small towns like
Kindersley
Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,59 ...
which saw its population increase to over 5,000 with the boom. Kindersley sells its treated municipal wastewater to oilfield service companies to use in hydraulic fracturing.
As the
price of oil
The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC ...
dropped dramatically in late 2014 partially in response to the shale oil boom, towns like Kindersley became vulnerable.
Quebec
The
Utica Shale
The Utica Shale is a stratigraphical unit of Upper Ordovician age in the Appalachian Basin. It
underlies much of the northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada.
It takes the name from the city of Utica, New York, as it was first d ...
, a
stratigraphical unit of
Middle Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya.
Th ...
age
Age or AGE may refer to:
Time and its effects
* Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed
** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1
* Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...
underlies much of the northeastern United States and in the subsurface in the provinces of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
.
Drilling and producing from the Utica Shale began in 2006 in Quebec, focusing on an area south of the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City. Interest has grown in the region since Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. announced a significant discovery there after testing two vertical wells. Forest Oil said its Quebec assets
has similar rock properties to the Barnett shale in Texas.
Forest Oil, which has several junior partners in the region, has drilled both vertical and horizontal wells. Calgary-based
Talisman Energy
Talisman Energy Inc. was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed between 1993 and 2015. The company was created from the assets of BP Canada after British Petroleum divested its 57 percent stake in June 1992. It was one of Canada ...
has drilled five vertical Utica wells, and began drilling two horizontal Utica wells in late 2009 with its partner Questerre Energy, which holds under lease more than 1 million gross acres of land in the region. Other companies in the play are Quebec-based Gastem and Calgary-based Canbriam Energy.
The Utica Shale in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
potentially holds at production rates of per day.
From 2006 through 2009 24 wells, both vertical and horizontal, were drilled to test the Utica. Positive gas flow test results were reported, although none of the wells were producing at the end of 2009. Gastem, one of the Utica shale producers, took its Utica Shale expertise to drill across the border in New York state.
In June 2011, the Quebec firm Pétrolia claimed to have discovered about of oil on
Anticosti Island
; moe, Notiskuan; mic, Natigostec
, sobriquet =
, image_name = RiviereHuileAnticosti.jpg
, image_caption = Salmon fisherman on Rivière à l'Huile
, image_map ...
, which is the first time that significant reserves were found in the province.
Debates on the merits of hydraulic fracturing have been on-going in Quebec since at least 2008.
In 2012 the Parti Québécois government imposed a five-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the region between Montreal and Quebec City, called the
St. Lawrence Lowlands, with a population of about 2 million people.
In February 2014, prior to announcing her provincial election campaign, former
Premier of Quebec
The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of th ...
and former leader of the
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
(PQ),
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ ...
, announced that the provincial government would help finance two exploratory shale gas operations as a prelude to
hydraulic fracturing on the island, with the province pledging $115-million to finance drilling for two separate joint ventures in exchange for rights to 50% of the licences and 60% of any commercial profit.
It was the first oil and gas deal of any size for the province. With the change in government that occurred in April 2014, the Liberals of
Philippe Couillard
Philippe Couillard (; born June 26, 1957) is a Canadian business advisor and former neurosurgeon, university professor and politician who served as 31st premier of Quebec from 2014 to 2018. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Quebec's Minister of He ...
could change that decision.
Petrolia Inc. Petrolia may refer to:
;United States
* Petrolia, New York
* Petrolia, California
* Petrolia, Kansas
* Petrolia, Pennsylvania
Petrolia is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 212 at the 2010 census.
Geograp ...
,
Corridor Resources and
Maurel & Prom
Maurel & Prom is an oil company specialising in the production of hydrocarbons. It is listed on Euronext Paris and has its registered office in Paris.
The Group generates most of its business in Africa through the exploitation of onshore product ...
formed one joint-venture, while
Junex Inc. was still seeking a private partner.
In November 2014 a report published by Quebec's advisory office of environmental hearings, the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), found "shale gas development in the Montreal-to-Quebec City region wouldn’t be worthwhile." BAPE warned of a "magnitude of potential impacts associated with shale gas industry in an area as populous and sensitive as the St. Lawrence Lowlands."
The Quebec Oil and Gas Association challenged the accuracy of BAPE's report. On 16 December 2014 Quebec's Premier
Philippe Couillard
Philippe Couillard (; born June 26, 1957) is a Canadian business advisor and former neurosurgeon, university professor and politician who served as 31st premier of Quebec from 2014 to 2018. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Quebec's Minister of He ...
responded to the BAPE report stating there will be no hydraulic fracturing due to a lack of economic or financial interest and a lack of social acceptability.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick's increased use of natural gas was facilitated by a single event: the arrival of natural gas from Nova Scotia's Sable Offshore Energy Project via the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline (MNP) in January 2000.
Exploration and Production
The following timeline illustrates the development of New Brunswick's natural gas production industry, post-1999.
2003: Natural gas is discovered and begins at McCully. Producing reservoir is Hiram Brook formation sandstone.
2007: A 45-kilometre pipeline is constructed to connect the McCully gas field with the Maritimes and Northeast mainline and a gas processing plant is constructed in McCully area.
2007: Two natural gas gathering pipelines are constructed (450 metres and 2,000 metres in length) to tie in two existing well pads (F-28 and L-38) to the existing gathering system.
2007: Expansion of the McCully natural gas production including the construction of six new well pads and gathering pipelines.
2008: Further expansion of the McCully natural gas system including construction of a 3.4 kilometre pipeline to tie in well pad I-39.
2009: First hydraulic fracturing of a horizontally drilled well in New Brunswick in the McCully area.
2009: Start of exploratory drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Elgin area, south of Petitcodiac.
2009–2010: The first shale-targeted wells are drilled in New Brunswick – four wells in the Elgin area, south of Petitcodiac. None are producing.
2014: The last hydraulic fracturing carried out in New Brunswick to date. Corridor Resources conducted hydraulic fracturing using liquid propane at five wells in the McCully and Elgin areas.
Hydraulic fracturing fluid
Under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, the
National Energy Board
The National Energy Board was an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the Government of Canada to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries". Its head office was located ...
(NEB) requests operators to submit the composition of the hydraulic fracturing fluids used in their operation that will be published online for public disclosure on the FracFocus.ca website.
Most of hydraulic fracturing operations in Canada are done using water. Canada is also one of the most successful countries in the world to use carbon dioxide as fracturing fluid, with 1,200 successful operations by the end of 1990 Liquefied petroleum gas is also used as a fracturing fluid in provinces where usage of water is prohibited such as New Brunswick.
Possible related earthquakes
The sharp seismicity increase observed in recent years in the
Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...
is inferred to be triggered by hydraulic fracturing operations. Most of the seismic events reported in this period are closely located to hydraulic fracturing wells completed in western
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
and northeast
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. In response to this increased seismicity, in 2015 the
Alberta Energy Regulator
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is an Alberta corporation, with its main office in Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. ...
released the Subsurface Order No. 2 that requires mandatory implementation of a Traffic-Light Protocol (TLP) based on the
local magnitude
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
(M
L) of seismic events detected during the monitored operations. According to this TLP, the
hydraulic fracturing operations can continue as planned when the M
Lof the detected seismic events are below 2.0 (green light), must be modified and reported to the regulator when a seismic event of M
L between 2.0 and 4.0 is detected (amber light), and must be immediately ceased when a seismic event of M
L > 4.0 is detected within 5 km of a hydraulic fracturing well (red light). The
BC Oil and Gas Commission
The BC Oil and Gas Commission is a Crown Corporation of the province of British Columbia, Canada, established in 1998. Its mandate is to regulate oil and gas activities and pipelines in British Columbia. Their mandate does not extend to regulating ...
implemented a similar TLP where the seismicity and surface ground motions must be adequately monitored during
hydraulic fracturing operations, and must be suspended if a M
L > 4 is detected within 3 km from the well. M
L > 4 has been chosen as a red-light threshold by both jurisdictions in western Canada (
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
and
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
) as a seismic event with magnitude below 4 corresponds to a minor earthquake that may be lightly felt, but with no expected property damage. The following table lists some amber or red-light TLP seismic events reported in the Horn River Basin in northeast BC, and in
Fox Creek, Alberta
Fox Creek is a town in northwest Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 43, approximately northwest of Edmonton and southeast of Grande Prairie, and has an elevation of .
Fox Creek is within the Upper Peace planning region, and is surroun ...
. The increased seismic activity in these two areas have been closely attributed to hydraulic fracturing operations.
Provincial regulations associated with hydraulic fracturing
In Canada, hydraulic fracturing operations are governed by a number of provincial acts, regulations, guidelines, and directives. In this section, existing regulatory instruments are listed by province. Note: lists of provincial governing regulations are not exhaustive and new directives are drafted and implemented by the provincial government as necessary.
See also
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Shale gas by country
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List of countries by recoverable shale gas
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Directional drilling
Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal dir ...
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Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing
The environmental impact of fracking is related to land use and water consumption, air emissions, including methane emissions, brine and fracturing fluid leakage, water contamination, noise pollution, and health. Water and air pollution are the bi ...
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Environmental impact of petroleum
The environmental impact of the petroleum industry is extensive and expansive due to petroleum having many uses.
Crude oil and natural gas are primary energy and raw material sources that enable numerous aspects of modern daily life and the worl ...
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Environmental impact of the oil shale industry
Environmental impact of the oil shale industry includes the consideration of issues such as land use, waste management, and water and air pollution caused by the extraction and processing of oil shale. Surface mining of oil shale deposits caus ...
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ExxonMobil Electrofrac
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Fractured Land'', a documentary films about hydraulic fracturing in First Nations in Canada
Citations
References
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External links
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{{Petroleum industry
Environmental issues in Canada
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Mining in Canada