Canada's unconventional gas resource base is vast and is now on its way to becoming an increasingly important part of Canada's total natural gas supply. So says Michael Gatens, an executive with MGV Energy and past chairman of the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas (CSUG). MGV is the Canadian subsidiary of Quicksilver Resources that is focused on coalbed methane drilling in Alberta. Canada now produces about 6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas per year and uses about half that amount domestically. About 1 billion cubic feet of that production is from tight-gas formations in western Canada. Another 300- to 500 million cubic feet a day will be coming from coalbed-methane wells by the end of this year, Gatens told attendees at the annual investment symposium of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) in Calgary in June. Nearly C$1 billion has been invested so far in drilling about 3,900 wells, mostly in Alberta, to tap coals, he says. The National Energy Board estimates that Canada could hold 75 Tcf of recoverable gas from coalbeds alone. Longer-term, there is more potential in shales and hydrates as well. The Gas Technology Institute has estimated that the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin could hold up to 860 Tcf of gas shales, but there is no major production of this type to date. In November the CSUG plans to hold a conference in Calgary on unconventional gas sources.
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