NEB, EUB study ups Alberta's conventional gas supply

March 21, 2005
Canada¿s Alberta province has an estimated 223 tcf of marketable conventional natural gas supplies, according to a joint study by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) and the National Energy Board (NEB) released Mar.

Canada’s Alberta province has an estimated 223 tcf of marketable conventional natural gas supplies, according to a joint study by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) and the National Energy Board (NEB) released Mar. 9.

That latest estimate is up by 12% from EUB’s last detailed study of Alberta’s ultimate gas potential in 1992 and is 7% higher than the last NEB study released in 2004 and based on yearend 2000 data. The two boards decided in 2001 that an updated estimate was required and collaborated on a joint study.

The number of wells drilled in Alberta has doubled since the 1992 EUB study and increased by almost 25% since the last NEB study, officials said.

The latest study uses data from 320,000 wells drilled by December 2004. The NEB 2004 report was based on data from 250,000 wells drilled in Alberta by the end of 2000. A report in 2001 by the Canadian Gas Potential Committee (CGPC) on Canada’s natural gas potential used data from 230,000 wells drilled by the end of 1998. EUB’s 1992 report was based on data from 160,000 wells drilled by mid-1991.

However, the new estimate does not include unconventional gas, such as coalbed methane, the exploration and development of which is on the rise in Canada.

Because of the “inherent uncertainty” in estimating geological prospects and predicting gas potential, the project team estimated a range for ultimate potential marketable conventional natural gas in Alberta at 205-253 tcf. The two boards adopted 223 tcf as the estimate both will use in future supply projections.