LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A years-long examination of the fracturing potential for natural gas in the Liard Basin is nearing completion, with a report expected in 2016.

A carbonate ridge overlain with shale rises near Sheaf Creek in the Nahanni National Park. - photo courtesy of the NWT Geological Survey

The Liard Basin Hydrocarbon Project, a scientific collaboration between the NWT Geological Survey, the governments of the Yukon and B.C., and the National Energy Board (NEB), began in 2012 with the intention of wrapping up field work in 2015.

However, field work ended in 2014, according to NWT Geological Survey director John Ketchum.

The project focused on shale rock in the Upper Besa River Formation north of Fort Liard. Although the area has been drilled in the past for hydrocarbons, mostly for natural gas, Ketchum said those projects have only explored conventional petroleum extraction.

"In other scenarios where they've produced natural gas in the NWT, there has been a natural accumulation of gas (that) they have to draw out from where it has accumulated," he said.

"In this case, the gas ... is still in the rock."

Because of that, the project and forthcoming report will focus on what Ketchum refers to as "unconventional shale potential," looking at the amount of overall natural gas that could be extracted.

"By 'unconventional,' (we) essentially mean they're going to go into a rock unit that doesn't give up its oil or gas unless you do some sort of fracturing of it to get the gas out," he said.

In the first two years of the project, geologists studied five outcrops and gathered data on petroleum gas potential in the area's shale formations. In 2014, they performed well sampling on five wells.

Ketchum said the three provincial and territorial jurisdictions involved are in the process of delivering the information they've produced to the National Energy Board. The information provided by the NWT Geological Survey will eventually form the foundation of NEB's planned resource assessment report on the Liard Basin.

During a public meeting in Fort Liard on Aug. 27,NWT minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment David Ramsay referenced the resource assessment in a speech about economic diversity and said Fort Liard has a "proud history" of gas and carbon development.

He said the resource assessment is expected to be released next year.

"We're looking forward to that information coming out," he said.

Publication dates are subject to change depending on when the three jurisdictions submit their information. Ketchum said the report will provide preliminary information for petroleum-producing companies, but more work would need to be done before industry moved into the area.

"This doesn't mean anything will ever be produced, but it helps people understand what might be there," he said. "This is very much a first pass at understanding the potential. If you were to go and try to produce hydrocarbons from that shale unit, you wouldn't have all the information (from this report) you'd need."

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