ABSTRACT

1975 was a year of readjustment and reassessment. The decrease in activity that took place in 1974 levelled off in 1975 with the more favourable economic climate resulting from actions, particularly of the Alberta and British Columbia provincial governments, to encourage exploration and development. A total of 4,105 exploratory and development wells were drilled, a minor decrease from 1974. Although exploratory drilling decreased by 6.2 per cent, development drilling increased by 6.6 per cent.

There were 105 oil discoveries and 552 gas discoveries, giving an exploratory success ratio of 40.4 per cent. Six hundred and eighty-three development wells were completed as oil producers and 1,596 as gas producers for a development success ratio of 86.4 per cent.

Alberta maintained its exploratory and development activity levels, with a strong emphasis on gas exploration. A new area, the Haig River area, became a region of intense activity for a shallow Cretaceous gas play. There is also increasing interest in exploration for gas, within the deeper part of the Alberta Basin and the Foothills Disturbed Belt. Both Saskatchewan and British Columbia showed declines in exploratory drilling, although this may be temporary for British Columbia.

Exploratory drilling decreased somewhat in the Arctic Islands, but maintained the same level in the Mackenzie Delta. Although there were no new discoveries in the Arctic Islands, a successful confirmation well was drilled to the Panarctic Bent Horn oil discovery of last year, and significant extensions were made to the Drake Point and Hecla gas fields. In the Mackenzie Delta, four multiple-zone oil and gas discoveries and outposts resulted from 17 exploratory wells in the area.

Exploration for and development of shallow Silurian gas plays in southern Ontario continued at about the same level. There was scattered exploratory drilling in Quebec and the Maritime Provinces.

Only 12 wells were drilled in the offshore areas of eastern Canada, the emphasis being on the Labrador Shelf.

Geophysical activity started to increase in Alberta and remained strong in the Northwest Territories - Arctic, but was at a low level elsewhere except in the offshore of eastern Canada, including Baffin Bay. During the late summer months, 7 marine seismic crews were operating in these offshore areas.

Production of liquid hydrocarbons was down by 12.9 per cent, largely because of limitations placed on export to the United States. The production of gas levelled off, with a small increase of domestic sales being offset by a small decline in export sales.

Proven and probable reserves of crude oil still continue to decline because of a lack of major discoveries. Natural-gas liquid reserves declined slightly. Proven natural-gas reserves, after production, increased by 0.4 per cent due to the aggressive exploration program in Alberta. Probable natural gas reserves increased even more by the addition of 5.9 Tcf of probable gas reserves in the Arctic Islands.

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