Sleeping gas partner set to awake

Saskatchewan may never unseat Alberta and British Columbia, Canada’s two leading natural gas provinces, but it has plenty of untapped potential.

A study by the National Energy Board and Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Energy and Resources found the Prairie province has posted a 42 percent gain in its marketable conventional gas resources since 1998, reaching 10.6 trillion cubic feet with lots of room to grow. The joint study estimates Saskatchewan has enough gas to sustain its current annual output of about 245 billion cubic feet for many years.

Of Canada’s total annual output of about 6.2 tcf, Alberta accounts for 4.8 tcf (with remaining ultimate potential of 101 tcf) and British Columbia produces close to 1 tcf (with remaining ultimate potential of 34 tcf).

Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bill Boyd said that while crude oil production has grabbed the limelight in his province, its gas role has been left in the shadows.

He said the study “gives us the basis for sound resource management and sustainability planning.” The NEB said the ultimate potential estimate provides basic information to accelerate the pace of development and deliverability.

Discovered resources have grown by 30 percent since 1997, with discoveries expanding primary play areas from shallow zones in western Saskatchewan to northern and eastern regions.

The study estimates the ultimate potential for shallow gas has risen by 80 percent since 1998, when the research focused mostly on deeper zones, with improved production methods, technological gains and higher gas prices pushing exploration into areas once viewed as marginal or noneconomic.

The report, noting that the bulk of Saskatchewan’s gas is nonassociated or found in reservoirs where no crude oil is present, said solution gas could “contribute significantly to (the province’s) future supplies of marketable gas.”

—Gary Park