Quebec: Petrolia to core Macasty shale on Anticosti

Petrolia Inc., Rimouski, Que., will drill a series of stratigraphic core holes on Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence offshore Quebec to help characterize the Macasty shale, the geological equivalent of the Utica shale.

Petrolia hopes to ascertain the Macasty’s maturity, organic richness, porosity, permeability, and thickness. The company chose the core locations to avoid tree cutting or opening any new road.

The company also plans to analyze more than 500 other samples taken from the 15 wells previously drilled on the island that reached the Macasty, three wells drilled in Ohio in selected areas where commercial oil flows were recorded from the Utica, and one well in the St. Lawrence Lowlands at which shale oil was recovered from the Macasty.