Manitoba Oil Facts

Did You Know That .........?   
(Printable Version)

• Manitoba has two potential areas for oil and gas production, southwest Manitoba and the Hudson Bay lowlands.
   

• Oil was discovered in Manitoba in, and has been produced since 1951.
   
• Manitoba's current oil production is located in southwest Manitoba along the northeastern flank of the Williston Basin, a sedimentary basin that also occupies portions of southern Saskatchewan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.
   
• Potential hydrocarbon bearing-formations in southwest Manitoba occur to depths of up to 2 300 metres (7,500 feet).
   
• The majority of the approximately 6,300 wells drilled in Manitoba have only been drilled to Mississippian formations; this represents approximately one half of the potential hydrocarbon bearing formations.
   
• Production in 2007 was 1,247,192.9 m³ – 7,848,135 Barrels.  The month of March 2007 had the highest production on record – 113,949 m³ (717,111 Bbls) or 23,133 Bbls per day.  Total production to the end of 2007 was 40.2 million m³ (253.0 million barrels).
   
• There is over 73 kilometers of core from wells drilled in Manitoba available for examination.
   
• All pre-1980 oil production originated from Mississippian Lodgepole and Mission Canyon formations at depths that range from 600 to 1 050 metres (2,000 to 3,500 feet) during 2007. These formations accounted for approximately 34% of Manitoba's production.
   
• Oil was discovered in 1980 above the Mississippian in the Jurassic Amaranth Formation. Approximately 8.3% of Manitoba's 2007 production originates from the Amaranth Formation in the Pierson-Waskada area.
   
• In 1985 oil was discovered in the Mississippian Bakken Formation in the Daly area. Production from the Bakken makes up 2.5% of the provincial total.

• In 1993, oil was discovered in the Jurassic Melita Formation in the St. Lazare area.
   

• In 2001, oil was discovered in the Devonian Three Forks Formation in the Daly Field, marking Manitoba’s first pre Mississippian Production.  In 2007, it accounted for 49% of Manitoba’s oil production.
   

• Manitoba oil fields have produced a total of 40,228,351 m³ (253,167,722 Bbls) of oil.  The Virden field has produced 58.6% of this total.
   
• The oldest producing well drilled in Manitoba is Daly Unit #3 Prov. 7-12-10-26 which has produced since July 1951.  Manitoba’s most productive well is 2-21-11-26W1 in North Virden Scallion Unit No. 1 which has produced 1.89 million barrels of oil since June 1955.
   

• Manitoba's oil is of good quality, and in 2007 the average selling price for light sour blend crude was $464.34 per cubic metre ($73.79 CDN per barrel). The estimated value of oil sold in 2007 was approximately $580 million.
   
• As of December 2007, there are approximately 2,576 producing oil wells in Manitoba, 246 of which were put on production during 2006.
   
• In December 2007, average production rate for horizontal wells in the province is 2.77 m³ per day (17 barrels per day), compared to an average production rate of 1.16 m³ per day (7.3 barrels per day) for vertical wells. During 2007, horizontal wells accounted for 30% of the province’s total production.
   
• Currently there are 14 designated oil fields and 204 oil pools in southwest Manitoba.
   
• Manitoba's crude oil production is equivalent to approximately 25% of the province's refined petroleum products requirements.
   
• Approximately 8.2 million m³ (51.4 million barrels) of salt water were produced in 2006, that's 10.06 m³ of salt water for every 1 m³ of crude oil produced.  Salt water must be separated from the oil and re-injected into subsurface formations.
   
• Approximately 400 wells are used for purposes other than production, such as disposal of produced water.
   
• The current cost to drill and complete a well in Manitoba ranges from $325,000 to $1.2 Million depending primarily on depth.
   
• 324 new wells were drilled in Manitoba during 2007 including 58 horizontal wells; of these 300 (93%) were cased as potential oil producers.
   
• Only 10 to 15% of the oil discovered in Manitoba is recoverable under natural depletion. Recovery may be increased to over 30% by water flooding.
   
• In 2007, approximately 56% of the producing wells are in waterflood projects and presently account for approximately 28% of the oil produced.
   
• As of December 31, 2003, the remaining established oil reserves were estimated to be 4.3 million m³ 
  (27.2 million barrels).
   
• Approximately 80% of the oil and gas rights are owned by private individuals or companies (freehold), the remaining 20% are owned by the Crown in the right of Manitoba.
   
• With a geothermal gradient of 1.3°C/m in the Virden area, thermally mature oil and gas can be generated in the rocks as shallow as a depth of 335 m.  This means the Cretaceous shales in Manitoba are excellent candidates for shallow gas exploration in most of the extreme southwest corner of Manitoba.
   
• Royalties payable to private oil and gas rights owners were estimated at $62 million in 2006.
   

• Total oil industry expenditures in Manitoba in 2006 were approximately $380 million.

Conversions - cubic metre = 6.29 barrels
1 barrel = 35 gallons (Imperial)