Integrated Assessment of Water Resources for Unconventional Oil and Gas Plays, West-Central Alberta

Brad Hayes, Petrel Robertson Consulting
GL 09-9206-50

Unconventional gas and oil development depends upon access to large volumes of water for completions operations, at the same time, water use is a concern to all parties including stakeholders and the water resource must be carefully managed. Knowledge of water availability and interactions between surface and groundwater will prevent conflicts, and support science-based decision-making and thoughtful development. However, appropriate water use solutions tend to vary across resource plays and therefore require a regional approach.

Policy Issue
Regional surface water and groundwater baseline information and inventories

Knowledge Gap
Three basic water sources for industrial use include: surface water, shallow groundwater and deep groundwater. For most areas, there are various data gaps inhibiting available water inventories. In key conventional gas play areas, undertake regional assessments of water inventories based on available data; define data gaps; and identify mechanisms to fill gaps. E.g., from BC’s Montney water project.

Year 2 Overview Report
Year 2 Deep Subsurface Aquifers Report
Year 2 Shallow Aquifer Report
Year 2 Surface Water Allocations Report

Year 1 Overview Report
Deep Aquifer Report
Literature Review
Shallow Aquifer Report
Surface Water Report
Appendix 1 – Formation Tops Database
Appendix 2 – Core Analysis Database
Appendix 3 – Production Database
Appendix 4 – Drillstem Test Data
Appendix 5 – Formation Water Analysis Data
Shallow Bedrock Map
Shallow Groundwater Overview