LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
ConocoPhillips recently completed drilling its second horizontal well near Norman Wells. This wraps up the company's planned physical exploratory work in the Sahtu region for the year, and may soon lead to five more years of exploration in the area that would include up to 10 new horizontal wells, a company representative.

ConocoPhillips recently wrapped up its Sahtu exploration. Five years of exploratory work that included the two first horizontally fracked wells in the NWT may soon be followed by another application before the Sahtu Land and Water Board. - photo courtesy of Husky Energy Inc.

"Once finished, we'll take time to evaluate the large amount of data we collected to determine our next steps," said ConocoPhillips spokesperson, Lauren Stewart. "Future plans will be based on the results of this year's program."

Although future plans are contingent on current results of the company's testing, a new Sahtu Land and Water Board application is in the works for regulatory approval to drill up to 10 new wells over a second, five-year stage of exploration.

The two recent horizontal wells were the final part of a five-year exploration project that ConocoPhillips began back in 2011. As part of their Sahtu region exploration, the company developed seismic data, built multiple well pads, and drilled two vertical wells before receiving approval to drill the two horizontal lines.

Although total exploration costs are not being released, Stewart said the company has already exceeded its commitment to spend more than $66.7 million on the five-year project.

Employment highlights directly resulting from the exploration were reported to include 106 local workers; 45 Tulita district workers, 20 Sahtu region workers, and 41 Northern workers. These numbers were collected through contractor reporting to ConocoPhillips and represented employment statistics as of Jan. 31, 2014. Not all employer reporting had been complete at the time, so final employment results will likely be higher, Stewart said.

Although hydraulically fractured conventional oil wells are relatively common within the industry - the process has been in use since the 1950s - the final two wells were horizontal fracks, with a shorter industry history. This attracted the attention of many who are concerned with the potential environmental impact of horizontally fractured wells.

Horizontal wells are lines drilled vertically below a known deposit, and then horizontally under that deposit to extract a percentage of trapped oil that remained after conventional methods become uneconomical.

The introduction of the fracking process by way of a horizontal drill hole is new to the NWT. The two ConocoPhillips exploratory fracks where the first for the territories.

Many unknowns surround the exploration, not only from the environmental point of view, but from the ConocoPhililps point of view. Just because horizontal fracking for oil in other deposits has been successful, it doesn't mean Sahtu Canol shale deposit will respond in an economically viable way to the same methods.

The potential economic boom to the region has seen the exploration recently receive high-profile support from Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya.

But for many, the potential environmental and social impact of the process outweigh any potential economic benefit.

Sheila Karkagie, a Tulita resident, helped bring forward a March 12 anti-fracking petition now before the NWT legislative assembly. She said she plans to continue her opposition to further fracking in the region by collecting and submitting letters to the Sahtu Land and Water Board from Sahtu region locals and others in opposition to the project.

"If people in support of ConocoPhillips can submit letters, we can submit our letters of opposition," Karkagie said. "I'll continue to fight this for as long as I can."