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(Corrected) B.C.'s Liard Basin natural gas reserves four times higher than previously thought

Natural gas reserves in the Liard Basin are four times larger than previously thought, according to a new assessment released Wednesday. The basin's potential had never been evaluated in detail before this study.
liard_basin_map
A map showing the location of the Liard Basin | National Energy Board

Natural gas reserves in the Liard Basin are four times larger than previously thought, according to a new assessment released Wednesday.

The basin's potential had never been evaluated in detail before this study.

The study evaluates the unconventional natural gas inventory of the Liard Basin, a relatively unexplored region that straddles the Northwest Territories (NWT), Yukon and B.C. It was jointly released by the National Energy Board (NEB), the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission and the NWT and Yukon Geological Surveys.

The report shows the ultimate potential for unconventional natural gas in the Liard Basin is expected to be 848 trillion cubic feet (TCF), up from a previous estimate of 210 TCF.

Mike Johnson, technical leader of hydrocrabon resources with the National Energy Board explains that it's likely only 219 TCF of that 848 TCF in-place resource will be accessible.

"We've always known the gas is there. The difficulty has been extracting it," Johnson told the Alaska Highway News. "Even with today's technology you can really only get about 20 per cent of the gas out of the rock and so when you end up with an in-place number of something like 800 TCF, you can really only extract about 200 TCF out of it."

The study determined the amount of gas by using data from existing wells in the region. 

Most of the gas in the Liard Basin is located in B.C., though the NWT and Yukon's potential are still larger, the study notes.

For comparison, the Montney formation beneath Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Northern Alberta has a potential 449 TCF of natural gas, while the Horn River Basin in the Fort Nelson area contains an estimated 78 TCF.

Total Canadian natural gas demand in 2014 was 3.2 TCF, making the Liard gas resource equal to 68 years of consumption.


Chart source: National Energy Board

However, the study adds that "it is too early to know whether the Liard Basin will significantly contribute to the Canadian gas production in the near term because gas prices are expected to remain low for the next several years, deterring development."

Rich Coleman, minister of natural gas development, said B.C.'s resource potential is at a competitive advantage over many other parts of the world.

"This report shows our long-term prospects are stronger than before," he said, "and that the Liard Basin can create economic activity and jobs in our province for a very long time to come."

Correcton: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the total marketable gas in the Liard Basin was 848 TCF. This number was the in-place resource. Only about 20 per cent of that, or 219 TCF is marketable, or able to be extracted. 

To read more stories from the Alaska Highway News, visit www.alaskahighwaynews.ca.

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