The inclusion of unconventional shale gas with conventional gas reserves has caused a sharp increase in estimated recoverable natural gas in Canada.Carrie Tait, "Canada's natural gas resource jumps dramatically in estimates", Financial Post, 12 May 2010. Until the 1990s success of hydraulic fracturing in the Barnett Shales of north Texas, shale gas was classed as "unconventional reserves" and was considered too expensive to recover. There are a number of prospective shale gas deposits in various stages of exploration and exploitation across the country, from British Columbia to Nova Scotia.Kevin Heffernen, Shale gas in North America, emerging shale opportunities, PDF file, retrieved 15 April 2009.
The US Energy Information Administration estimated in 2013 that there were 573 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas in Canada.US Energy Information Administration, World shale gas, 17 May 2013.
Resource law in Canada Sir John A. Macdonald had already maintained in an 1880 parliamentary debate that the British North America Act 1867 vested the control of the inland and sea-coast fisheries of Canada in the Dominion government, who incurred all the expense incidental to their protection."The Pall Mall Budget: Being a Weekly Collection of Articles Printed in the Pall Mall Gazette from Day to Day, with a Summary of News, Volume 24", p.35 10 April 1880
By virtue of the insertion in 1982 of section 92A of the British North America Act 1867, "(1) In each province, the legislature may exclusively make laws in relation to (a) exploration for non-renewable natural resources in the province;..." The geographical limits of the jurisdiction of the provinces had been tested by the Supreme Court of Canada in Reference Re: Offshore Mineral Rights, a 1967 case which involved all of the provinces that border on the ocean."Supreme Court Judgments – Reference Re: Offshore Mineral Rights", (1967) SCR 792 The decision of the court was that the Dominion of Canada has authority over the sea and seabed; and this was later reflected by the insertion of section 92A.
Southern Ontario There are three major zones identified in Ontario: the Kettle Point Formation, known in Michigan as the Antrim Shale, where it is a source of shale gas. the Collingwood/Blue Mountain formations, known as Utica Shale the northernmost limit of the Marcellus Shale that extends up from Pennsylvania and New York State.
While Ontario in 2010 had 1,200 active oil wells and 1,400 active onshore and offshore natural gas wells, there was no major shale gas production as of early 2011.
In 2012, a campaign against fracking was launched in Ontario.
Quebec
Utica Shale The Ordovician Utica Shale in Quebec potentially holds at production rates of per dayForest Oil Corporation – Press Releases and Notices From 2006 through 2009 24 wells, both vertical and horizontal, were drilled to test the Utica. Positive gas flow test results were reported, although none of the wells were producing at the end of 2009.Susan R. Eaton, "Shale play extends to Canada," AAPG Explorer, January 2010, p.10-24. Gastem, one of the Utica shale producers, has announced plans to explore for Utica Shale gas across the border in New York state.
The Utica shale is a black calcareous shale, from 150 to thick, with from 3.5% to 5% by weight total organic carbon. The Utica Shale play focuses on an area south of the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City. Interest has grown in the region since Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. announced a significant discovery there after testing two vertical wells. Forest Oil said its Quebec assets may hold as much as four trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, and that the Utica shale has similar rock properties to the Barnett shale in Texas.
Forest Oil, which has several junior partners in the region, has drilled both vertical and horizontal wells. Calgary-based Talisman Energy has drilled five vertical Utica wells, and began drilling two horizontal Utica wells in late 2009 with its partner Questerre Energy, which holds under lease more than 1 million gross acres of land in the region. Other companies in the play are Quebec-based Gastem and Calgary-based Canbriam Energy.
The US Energy Information Administration estimated in 2013 that there were 31 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas in the Utica Shale in Quebec.
British Columbia On 26 August 2015, CBC reported that the British Columbia regulator was aware of a magnitude 4.4 earthquake which had been caused by Progress Energy, a subsidiary of the Malaysian state-owned enterprise, Petronas.yahoo.com: "Canada : un séisme de magnitude 4,4 causé par la fracturation hydraulique", 27 August 2015
Muskwa Shale The Devonian Muskwa Shale of the Horn River Basin in northeast British Columbia is said to contain of recoverable gas. Major leaseholders in the play are EOG Resources and Ovintiv
The government of British Columbia announced lease proceeds for 2008 to be in excess of CDN$2.2 billion, a record high for the province, with the majority of the proceeds coming from shale gas prospects. The British Columbia government has granted royalty credits to companies for drilling and infrastructure development in the area.
The US Energy Information Administration estimated in 2013 that there were 145 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas in the Muskwa Shale.
Montney Shale The Montney Shale play is in east-central British Columbia."Study analyzes nine US, Canada shale gas plays", Oil and gas Journal, 10 November 2008, p.50. The Montney Formation has a sandy facies in Western Alberta, where oil is produced in the Sturgeon Lakes and Saddle Hills areas. Natural gas is extracted from siltstone reservoir in the Dawson Creek and Pouce Coupe areas and gas rich silty shales occur in the northern and western fringes of the deposit.
Alberta
Duvernay Shale The Duvernay Formation is considered the source rock for the Leduc reefs light oil play. Shale gas and condensate is produced from the Duvernay Formation in central Alberta using horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing.
On 16 June 2015, Andrew Nikiforuk wrote that Chevron Canada had confirmed that "a magnitude 4.4 seismic event was recorded by seismic monitoring arrays operated by Chevron Canada and Natural Resources Canada" in the Duvernay shale near Fox Creek, Alberta.thetyee.ca: "Another 4.4 Magnitude Industry Reported Quake in Alberta", 16 June 2015 Nikiforuk is a journalist who has followed the Canadian oil and gas industry since the late 1990s.
Nova Scotia
Horton Bluff Shale In 2009, Triangle Petroleum Corporation completed two gas wells in the Horton Bluff Formation, of the Windsor Basin, Nova Scotia.Reuters (6 March 2009): , accessed 16 April 2009.
The US Energy Information Administration estimated in 2013 that there were 3.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas in the Horton Bluff Shale.
New Brunswick New Brunswick oil and gas exploration first began in 1859 in the Moncton sub-basin.cbc.ca: "IN DEPTH: N.B. shale gas industry", 26 November 2011 The first efforts for commercial production in New Brunswick were in the Stoney Creek oil field, this begun in 1909.St Peter, Oil shale and oil and natural gas in New Brunswick: historical and current industry-related activities. 2000 As of November 2011, nine companies had 71 different leases to search and explore for shale gas deposits across the province and not just in the southern part of New Brunswick.cbc.ca: "Natural gas companies bank on shale's future", 28 November 2011 The province expected in 2011 to receive $21 million in royalties. Between 1990 and 2010, government statistics show 40 natural gas wells and 40 oil wells had been drilled. Another 49 wells had undergone hydraulic fracturing and nine of the wells had been drilled horizontally.
Companies operating in southern New Brunswick also have relatively close access to the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, which was built in 1999 to transport natural gas from Sable Island to New England.
Corridor Resources announced in 2010 that it had found more natural gas in place in southern New Brunswick than is available in all of western Canada's proven reserves, and that it had nearly overlooked the gas deposit because it had considered the well a dud at first and it was abandoned for the previous 11 years. Apache Canada was in 2010 one of the first companies that began drilling horizontal wells to tap the Frederick Brook shale deposit.
In June 2011 and in the wake of months of protests by citizens, Natural Resources minister Bruce Northrup unveiled new regulations on exploration that were to force producers to:cbc.ca: "Northrup unveils new hydro-fracking rules", 23 June 2011 perform baseline testing on all water wells within a minimum distance of 200 metres of seismic testing and 500 metres of oil or gas drilling before operations can begin; offer full disclosure of all fluids and chemicals used, or proposed, in the hydro-fracking process set up a security bond to protect property owners from potential accidents
Also in June 2011, Grand Chief Harry LaPorte of the Maliseet First Nation worried that the controversial mining process of hydro-fracking should not be allowed in New Brunswick over fears it could harm the water supply:cbc.ca: "Maliseet chief calls for hydro-fracking ban", 21 June 2011
In August 2011, SWN operations in New Brunswick were subject to vandalism,"SWN to stop N.B. seismic testing", 19 August 2011 and in November, a teepee was erected by protestors, who were said to number 600, on the front lawn of the legislature in Fredericton. cbc.ca: "Teepee unites anti-fracking protesters", 21 November 2011 The Conservative New Brunswick government of David Alward at the time refused to put a moratorium on shale gas development in the province; Natural Resources minister Bruce Northrup seemed to be sympathetic to shale gas development in August, but seemed not to have clarified in his own mind the distinction between public and private property.
Also in August 2011, protesters at Stanley, New Brunswick, between Fredericton and Miramichi at the intersection of Route 107 and Route 620, blockaded seismic trucks. Protesters, who were concerned that the seismic testing could lead to hydro-fracking in their communities, came from various communities, such as Penniac, Taymouth, Stanley, Rogersville and several First Nations, and began singing traditional First Nations songs once the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrived.cbc.ca: "Seismic testing trucks blocked by protesters", 9 August 2011
In November 2011, the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources filed a complaint with the RCMP against Windsor Energy Inc. for allegedly violating the Oil and Natural Gas Act.gnb.ca: "Complaint filed against Windsor Energy for alleged violation of Oil and Natural Gas Act", 9 November 2011 The Calgary-based company was accused of directing a contracted company to conduct geophysical exploration within the boundaries of the town of Sussex, New Brunswick without the town's permission, according to a statement by Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup. Under regulation 86–191 of the Oil and Natural Gas Act, a municipality's written permission is required before geophysical activity can be conducted inside the boundaries of an incorporated municipality. Northrup has previously said it is clear Windsor Energy broke the rules and did so intentionally. Its contractor, Seismotion, originally asked for town approval to do tests within the community, and councillors arranged a special meeting in October, just ahead of the company's scheduled arrival, the department found, but when Seismotion crews arrived in Sussex two days ahead of schedule, the company decided not to wait for town consent.cbc.ca: "N.B. files RCMP complaint against Windsor Energy", 9 November 2011