Apropos to the spirit of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists’ 50th Anniversary and World Oil Occurrence, we should ensure that our applied exploration technology is not falling behind the rest of the world as recently reported by the Canadian Science Secretariat for other industries. We pioneered Paleozoic carbonate and reef technology and apply the techniques on most well site work. Mesozoic clastic and deltaic technology has not utilized available well site techniques such as micropaleontology. Similar oil exploration programs in other parts of the world staff the well site complement with biostratigraphers.

A review of rock types and laboratory extraction for recovering micro-fossils is compared with suggested well site procedures and equipment. The advantages and limitations of utilizing a biostratigrapher at a well site are also compared with the generally accepted practice of operating with a lithostratigrapher. Future economic considerations including conservation of energy with regard to air shipment of sampples, are equally applicable to exploration by the energy industry. This may dictate more self-contained units at the drill site, in particular at locations such as the new frontier areas of the offshore and the arctic.