Status of the CSPG Digital Geological Atlas of Canada Project Ben McKenzie
OUTLINE OF TALK Where we were Where we are Where we want to be
The last Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) was published in 1994. It was a collaborative work between dozens of individuals and companies in the public, private, and academic sectors. It is the best overall compilation of Canadian geological data as it relates to the energy industry available - despite being out-of-print for years. The Atlas is 17x22 inches in size and weighs close to 30 pounds. It is a compilation of maps, crosssections, schematics, and descriptive text for all geologic intervals in the WCSB.
The 1994 Geological Atlas was based on a well control dataset of approximately 16,000 wells. At the time, there were 234,000* wells in western Canada that had been drilled for oil and gas over the last century. NWT YK Black dots are the well control dataset used for the Atlas Green dots are wells that had been drilled prior to 1994 AB BC SK MB * = 278,000 completions
Since the Atlas was published, there have been another 300,000 wells* drilled in western Canada. NWT YK Black dots are the well control dataset used for the Atlas Red dots are wells that have been drilled since publication of the Atlas AB BC SK MB * = 380,000 completions
New plays are being developed in areas and zones that previously had little or no activity. NWT YK AB Examples of major new developments since the publication of the Atlas (each block is 36 square miles). BC SK MB Black dots are the well control dataset used for the Atlas Green dots are wells that had been drilled prior to 1994 Red dots are wells that have been drilled since publication of the Atlas
There have been significant interest and advances in shale gas, coalbed methane, tight gas, shale oil, oil sands, and heavy oil plays since the Atlas was published. As well, there has been increasing interest in the more technologically and environmentally challenging areas of the East Coast Offshore and the Arctic. Northeast Alberta Oil Sands Arctic Oil and Gas Northeast BC Shale Gas Northeast BC Tight Gas Central Alberta Coalbed Methane East Coast Offshore Oil and Gas East Central Saskatchewan Shale Oil Williston Basin Tight Oil Eastern Provinces shale gas
While most oil and gas activity has been in the west, the Canadian petroleum industry began in the east, near Sarnia, Ontario. There have been oil and gas discoveries in all the eastern provinces. These areas were not covered in the 1994 Atlas.
Issues to Address: All of Canada derives significant financial benefits from the petroleum and related industries. There is increasing concern as to security of energy supply. Arctic oil and gas has the potential to become an area of international conflict. The effect of the industry on the environment is becoming more important in deciding how the country s energy resources can be developed. To make responsible decisions, it is necessary to have access to information quickly and easily.
Goals of the Digital Atlas Committee Organize a process to make the 1994 Atlas more readily available. Create an interactive webmap for geological information. Develop a more timely and efficient way to update the data.
Goals The first goal of the Digital Atlas Committee was met by organizing a way to download PDFs of the 1994 Atlas from the CSPG website. Devon Canada arranged for the Atlas to be scanned and donated the PDFs to the CSPG. These have been added to the CSPG website. This overcomes the issue of the Atlas being out-of-print, thereby making this valuable reference much more accessible.
Goals The second goal of the Digital Atlas Committee is to develop a web-based interactive map application that builds on existing data and expands to cover all of Canada. A significant amount of material from the original Atlas is digital, thanks to the efforts of the Alberta Geological Survey; however, it is not organized into an easily used form. The web application will convert the raw digital data into an interactive map making the existing Atlas data much more accessible. New links to additional data across Canada can be added.
Possible Content Links In addition to the existing Atlas maps, cross-sections, text, and other illustrations, map layers on new topics or areas can be added as they are prepared. Links to other public, private, or academic material can be made to either display the data or jump to another website where the data could be displayed, downloaded, or purchased. Some of these items could include: CSPG Bulletin articles, Memoirs, Core Conference Proceedings Theses and Dissertations Specialty reports Detailed well data Seismic sections
Purpose of the Interactive Web-map The CSPG does not have the mandate nor the resources to compete with products offered by industry service companies. The interactive web-map is intended as a regional overview that assists industry and researchers by making public domain data more accessible and by showing where proprietary data is available. Users will benefit from the web-map by seeing what is available in their area of interest and being able to easily access more detailed information as required. Service companies will benefit from the exposure of their products to potential customers.
Proof of Concept Webmap Through the efforts of ESRI and Cybera, a Proof of Concept webmap has been developed. It is intended to show what can be done with the data and to test the delivery system. The demo application is available till the end of May at: http://cspgatlas.cybera.ca/cspggeologicatlas/ Send your comments to: digital.atlas@cspg.org
Goals The third goal of developing a wiki-style process for user interaction and updating is a longer-term project. Development of the interactive web-map has to take place first. The 1994 Atlas had volunteer contributions from dozens of individuals and companies. That same sense of cooperation and volunteerism is still active today - as evidenced by the CSPG s many volunteers and sponsors - and is vital for this project to succeed.
The ultimate goal of the Digital Atlas project is to consolidate widely scattered data so that useful information can be derived and knowledgeable decisions can be made. Wisdom This will lead to the wise use of our natural resources. Knowledge Information Data
Acknowledgements This project could not have been done without the efforts of many individuals, in particular: ESRI Canada (Chris Farris, Steven Beothy) http://www.esricanada.com/ Cybera (Robin Winsor, Patrick Mann) http://www.cybera.ca/