Manitoba Innovation, Energy and Mines

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 6,600 wells drilled in Manitoba have only been drilled to Mississippian formations; this represents approximately one half of the potential hydrocarbon bearing formations.
   
• Production in 2008 was 1,370,585 m3 – 8.6 million Barrels.  The month of March 2007 had the highest production on record – 120,087 m3 (755,740 Bbls) or 24,379 Bbls per day.  Total production to May 2009 was 42.1 million m3 (265 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 to May 2009. These formations accounted for approximately 81.5% of Manitoba's cumulative oil production.
   
• Oil was discovered in 1980 above the Mississippian in the Jurassic Amaranth Formation. Approximately 13.9% of Manitoba's 2008 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 mades up 2% of the 2008 annual production.

• 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 2008, it accounted for 48.1% of Manitoba’s oil production.
  

• As of December 31, 2008, Manitoba oil fields have produced a total of 41,534,482 m3 (261,387,554 Bbls) of oil.  The Virden field has produced 57.3% 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 1.91 million barrels of oil since June 1955.
  

• Manitoba's oil is of good quality, and in 2008 the average selling price for light sour blend crude was $612.10 per cubic metre ($97.27 CDN per barrel). The estimated value of oil sold in 2008 was approximately $838 million.
   
• As of December 2008, there are approximately 2,692 producing oil wells in Manitoba, 220 of which were put on production during 2006.
   
• In December 2008, average production rate for horizontal wells in the province is 2.81 m3 per day (17.7 barrels per day), compared to an average production rate of 1.02 m3 per day (6.4 barrels per day) for vertical wells. During 2008, horizontal wells accounted for 30.4% of the province’s total production.
   
• Currently there are 14 designated oil fields and 135 oil pools in southwest Manitoba.
   
• Manitoba's crude oil production is equivalent to approximately 40% of the province's refined petroleum products requirements.
   
• Approximately 10.0 million m3 (62.9 million barrels) of salt water were produced in 2008, that's 7.3 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.
   
• 316 new wells were drilled in Manitoba during 2008 including 127 horizontal wells; of these 298 (94.3%) 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 2008, approximately 37% of the producing wells are in waterflood projects and presently account for approximately 31.4% 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 $83 million in 2008.
  

• Total oil industry expenditures in Manitoba in 2008 were approximately $509 million.
  

• In July 2008, Manitoba approved a C02 Enhanced Oil Recovery project in the Sinclair Oil Field.

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