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.J c PTC:.s - {):.J. - 03 Development and Transmission to Market of British Columbia NatlUral Gas Reserves By PETER R. KUTNEY'· and A.LTON T. TYLER* (A.nullal Westen"t llIeetiny, C.l,J11., l'ancol/ver, OctobcT,1964) ABSTRACT In 1950 and 1951, intensified drilling in the Dawson The discoHry of huge natural gas reserves in British Creek area resulted in gas shows in the Cadotte for­Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/JCPT/article-pdf/4/02/62/2166013/petsoc-65-02-03.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Columbia, strategically located with respect to almost un­ mation at a depth of approximately :3,200 feet, and in limited markets for this premium fuel along the entire the Upper Triassic rocks at a depth of -I,800 feet. Pacific Coast and in the Far East, has led to the rapid A number of gas wells were completed, but, due to deYelopment of the \Vestcoast Transmission Company's pipeline sJstem during the period from 1957 to date_ De­ their limited producing capacity, were nevcl' connected li\'eries of gas, present!}- in the magnitude of 500 million to market. cubic feet per daJ" in the wintertime, are expected to in­ crease to the Yicinit:r of a billion cubic feet per day in All this exploration was a forerunner to the estab­ the next similar period as a result of recent reserve devel­ lishment of a :-;ufficient ~upply of gas fOl' the pm­ opments in the Fort Nelson area and the anticipated con­ po~ed \Vestcoast Tran~mission Company pipeline, al­ tinual growth of markets in Canada and the 'Vestern ready conceived in the mind of Frank M_ McMahon. States, and off-shore shipments of LMG as far as Japan_ To bring these large l'olumes of gas to market, \Vestcoast Based on the commercial qLlantitie~ of reserves found presentll operates 1,000 miles of gathering lines and 30­ adjacent to the British Columbia bonier in Alberta in. mainline_ This is being expanded this lear by a ~57,­ and his knowledge that the sedimentary basin in 000,000 construction program into the Fort Nelson area close to the border of the Northwest Territories. '''''hich these reserves were found extended over into northeastern British Columbia, Mr. i\'1cMahon relent­ A re,-iew of the development of natural gas resen'es in the Fort St. John and Northwestern Alberta fields has lessly pursued his dream of building a big-inch pipe­ been followed by similar material cOl'ering the new Fort line to supply natural gas to the lower mainllllul of Nelson area. British Columbia and the Pacifie Northwest states The transmi.ssion of British Columbia gas resen"E.'S to of the United States. market requires a complex pipeline s}'stem involving the handling of gas Crom the "arious fields, both sweet and Pacific Petroleums LteL, one of the spolU~orillg com­ ~our. wet and dry, at hi~h and low pressures, all under an panies of \Vestcoast, esblblished the first commercial extreme range of weather conditions_ Briefl}' described production of natural gas in British Columbia by the are the Company's wellhead dehydration and gathering systems, treating plants, measurement stations, compres­ discovery of the Fort St_ .John field in UJ52. This dis­ sor stations and mainline facilities_ covery was made as a result of combining :H1rface geology ,... ith l:;;ub-surface information disclosed by r HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT two dn holes drilled on a surface structure_ This was followed by further discoveries during 1952. and this HE first exploration for petroleum substances in year marked the beginning of active exploration in T northeastern British Columbia was initiated by northeastern British Columbia. From a total of tell the Provincial Government during 1921 and 1922 when exploratory wildcat well~ drilled during the year 1952, six shallow wells were drilled north of Hudson Hope. the number has steadily increased to a total of sev­ These well~, drilled to depths of between 1,000 and enty-two wildcat wells drilled during the year 1963, 2,500 feet, wel'e unsucce~sful. During the period ulltil the Federal Power Com­ No further activity took place until 1940, \vhen the mission's approval to import gas into the United Provincial Government drilled a 6.940-foot test ap­ States was obtained. on November 25, 1955, dl'illing proximately 70 miles west of Dawson Greek. The \vell efforts were directed tm\-al'd proving up as much gus wa~ abandoned with no shows_ re~erves as possible with the least number of wells. In 19-18, the firl:it apparent commercial discovery of In other words, the discoveri es were follo\'red up by gas in British Columbia was made adjacent to the widely spaced step-out welI~_ Alberta border near Pouce Coupe. The first well to After all authorizations were finally received by be completed as a potential gas producer was Peace \Vestcoast on November 25, 1955, development drill­ River Natural Gas No.1 [since renamed '~lestcoast ing \\'ent into high gear to provide the necessary de­ POllee Coupe 6-30-80-13 (1)]. This well \vas actually Jiverability. \Vhen \\'estcoa.!'!t went on stream in late an exten1::iion to gas pl'oduction already discovered on 1957, it was drawing on gas from fifty-two gas wells the Alberta ~ide_ The producing capacity of this well in eight fields (two of which were single-well field.!'!) was only in the neighbourhood of 500 thousand cubic in British Columbia anci thirty gas wells in three feet per day. and hence this well ' ...·as never placed on ficlds in the Peace River area of Alberta. The total production. established gas reserves in British Columbia, at thllt time, were between 1.5 and 2.0 trillion cubic feet. In addition, \Vestcoast had a permit from the Alberta Oil --""Manager of Gas Supply and Sales; -:"="'"Ma1!agcl' and Gas Conservation Board to export approximately of Operati01/s and Engineering; H'estcoast T1'ans1nis­ 1 trillion cubic feet from reserves established in the sion Company Limited, YanCO'llV6T, B.C. Peace River area of Alberta. 62 The Journal of Canadian Petroleum ,. Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/JCPT/article-pdf/4/02/62/2166013/petsoc-65-02-03.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 : i .', '"g"j I i ! JP<LL '" ! w .1 rJW' \ M .....-""'" V-o 't'" I O<l ' ~ .' ofllUJAY I \ <>~ ..-r------------'41 • i. o • , .. LEGEND '. G.AS RESERVE FtIRT St JOHN ~ fORT NELSON ­ EXISTING GAS PIPELINE9 WESTCOAST - OTHERS ---'-' ---Figure 1._Present and Pl-oposed Su:pply Areas. 63 Technology, April-June, 1965, Montreal During the first heating season of its operation tions, have been found within i\oliddle Devonian car­ (1957-1958), \Vestcoast was delivering gas to its bonates, usually the Slave Point formation_ The gas markets at maximum rates of approximately 275 mil­ accumulations occur in :Middle Devonian barrier reefs lion cubic feet per day. This has increased to approxi­ which have grown on the edge of a shale embuJrmenL mately 500 million cubic feet per day during the past Dolomitization of a narruw band of limestone reef has heating season_ given good vuggy and intercr.rstalline POl'OHity. The \Vestcoast In-esently gathers gas from approximate­ reef front is generally pOrOlLg dolomite or dolomitic ly 250 ga~ wells located in twenty-two gas fields in limestone which grade~ into dense limestones in the northea~tern British Columbia (Ftgltl'e 1). The pres­ backreef areas. It dips ver)" ~teepl)r into the shale ent supply area covers an area of approximately 10,­ basin, 000 square miles, extending from the Da,..·son Creek Seismic methods hm'e been very ~ucce~~flll in de­ field in the southeast to the North Jedney field in the lineating the reef fronts in this area. Sub.:'iequent drill­ Ilorthwe~t. ga~ i~ The gathered, exclusive of pruducer ing along these honts has led to the discovery of the line~, gathering through some 408 miles of gathering Clal'ke Lake, Kotcho Lake ~lnd Petitot River fields, as \Ve~tcuast system. In addition, gather13 gas from ap­ well as numerous undeveloped ~ingie-well areas. The proximately thirty-three ga::; wells in six gas field!=; in results of certain ~ei::imic dahl which were made avail­ the Peace Rive1' area of Alberta. able for our inspectiun indicate an apparentl,v cuntill­ The total number of ga~ wells in B1'itish Columbia 1l0LIoS major reef front extending from ~outhwest of now ~tands at approximateI,}" 480, a sharp increa~e CI£lrke lake in a meandering path east to the JuniorDownloaded from http://onepetro.org/JCPT/article-pdf/4/02/62/2166013/petsoc-65-02-03.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 from the 15 at the end of 1952. field, and trending northward through the ICotcho, Cabin and Petitot River fields toward Celibeta lake, GeoloY!J a Lotal distance of approximately 285 miles_ Drilling The area under discussiOll (northeastern British Co­ and other minor sei.-;mic cOlltrol indicates the pres­ ence of reefs to the ea.-;t alld west. pal"illlel to the lumbia) represent..; a portion of the \Vestern Cal1a­ maj01' reef front_ diall Sedimentary Basin, consisting of a wedge of .sediments which thickens from 7,000-8,000 feet along The Triassic beds, which are the m,lin gas resel'­ the Alberta - British Columbia border to over 14,000 \-oirs to the south, are entire.ly missing due tu sedi­ feet along the mountain front west of Fort St. John. mentary thinning and erosiun. Cretaceou.-; sediment~, The thick .sequence of sediments, made up of Devon­ consisting of shales and .sandstones, lie directly 011 top ian, Mississippian, Permo-Pennsylvania, Triassic.

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