Market Snapshot: NWT is estimated to have 16.4 Tcf of discovered gas and 1.2 billion barrels of discovered oil
Release date: 2014-11-27
On November 26, 2014 the National Energy Board released its Assessment of Discovered Conventional Petroleum Resources in the Northwest Territories and Beaufort Sea. The Board’s latest review of discovered conventional petroleum resources in the Mainland Northwest Territories (NWT), the NWT Arctic Islands, and the Beaufort Sea estimates there are natural gas resources of 467.0 billion cubic metres (16.7 trillion cubic feet), crude oil resources of 195.1 million cubic metres (1227.8 million barrels), and natural gas liquids resources of 8.5 million cubic metres (53.3 million barrels). Discovered conventional petroleum means oil, gas, and natural gas liquids that have been determined to exist in a pool by one or more wells.
Northwest Territories/Beaufort Sea Study Areas
Figure Source and Description
Source: NEB Northwest Territories Resource Assessment
Description: The map above shows the Northwest Territories study area which includes: Beaufort Sea, Mackenzie Delta, NWT Arctic Islands, Mackenzie Plain, Colville Hills, Liard Plateau, Great Slave Plain (South), Great Slave Plain (North), Peel Plain, Great Bear Plain (North), Great Bear Plain (South), and Horton Plain.
The review did not estimate unconventional petroleum resources because of their early stage of development within the Mackenzie Plain study area. Nor did the review estimate undiscovered conventional petroleum potential in the 13 study areas. The following table shows petroleum resource volumes by study area.
| Study Area | Natural gas billion cubic metres (trillion cubic feet) |
Natural gas liquids million cubic metres (million barrels) |
Oil million cubic metres (million barrels) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort Sea | 178.0 (6.2) | 0.2 (1.2) | 106.1 (667.4) |
| Mackenzie Delta | 160.8 (5.7) | 8.3 (52.0) | 28.8 (181.0) |
| NWT Arctic Islands | 75.2 (2.6) | 0 | 4.9 (31.0) |
| Mackenzie Plain | 18.3 (0.6) | 0 | 53.5 (336.7) |
| Colville Hills | 17.8 (0.6) | <0.1 (0.1) | 1.3 (8.1) |
| Liard Plateau | 14.2 (0.5) | 0 | <0.1 (<0.1) |
| Great Slave Plain (South) | 2.5 (<0.1) | 0 | 0.5 (3.4) |
| Great Slave Plain (North) | <0.1 (<0.1) | 0 | 0 |
| Peel Plain | <0.1 (<0.1) | 0 | 0 |
| Anderson Plain | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Great Bear Plain (North) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Great Bear Plain (South) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Horton Plain | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 467.0 (16.4) | 8.5 (53.3) | 195.1 (1227.8) |
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