Alberta Energy’s B.C. gas discovery delivering more than 150 mcf per day

Petroleum News Alaska

Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. said June 15 that it has opened the valve on one of Canada’s most prolific natural gas discoveries, producing more than 150 million cubic feet per day at Ladyfern in northeast British Columbia.

Initial gas from the field, which was first tested as a major discovery less than six months ago, began flowing May 17. AEC said the addition of Ladyfern has taken the company’s current daily gas production to more than 1.5 billion cubic feet per day, the first Canadian company to reach this level. The company’s current daily gas production is 40 percent higher than the company’s average for all of 2000.

AEC Oil & Gas President Randy Eresman said “the time from discovery delivery to sales delivery is less than six months, which is a fantastic achievement for a project of this magnitude and remote location.” AEC owns 100 percent of its Ladyfern assets, which is about 100 kilometers north of Fort St. John, British Columbia.

AEC drilled nine Ladyfern wells last winter on a portion of the its 33,000 acres in the region and is now evaluating comprehensive two- and three-dimensional seismic to select additional drilling locations for the winter of 2001-02.

AEC is Canada’s largest natural gas producer, with daily production expected to exceed 380,000 barrels of oil equivalent for the year. The company is involved in new ventures exploration in Alaska, the Mackenzie Delta, Australia, Congo and Azerbaijan.