Corridor Resources Inc., Halifax, has suspended exploration of a large structure in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, citing unexpected complexity of the geology and its failure to find a partner.
The 43,000-acre Old Harry structure is in 470 m of water straddling the Newfoundland-Quebec border (OGJ Online, Feb. 23, 2011). It’s one of the largest undrilled structures in eastern Canada.
Corridor Resources said it purchased a licensed copy of a controlled-source electromagnetic survey conducted over the Newfoundland side of the structure in 2017 and performed an integrated geotechnical review with 762 km of reprocessed 2D seismic data acquired in 1998 and 2002.
The review indicated more complexity than previous analysis had suggested.
“This has led us to believe the play could be more gas-prone than oil-prone and the overall hydrocarbon accumulation could be less than originally estimated,” the company said in a press release.
It said a 3D seismic survey over the whole structure would be needed to support drilling of an exploratory well. Without a partner, it can’t complete the work before expiration of the exploration license on the Newfoundland side in January 21.
“We reached this conclusion with the knowledge that the timelines for regulatory approvals for offshore projects are lengthy and are becoming increasingly challenging,” it said.