HORN RIVER BASIN (SHALE GAS): A PRIMER OF CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS TO DEVELOPMENT

摘要

Natural gas is becoming a world commodity which is being produced, imported, and exported by many countries including new entrants from regions such as Africa (Egypt, Angola, Algeria), Asia (China), and South American (Venezuela). In North America, Canada has become a major producer, consumer, and exporter of natural gas with unconventional shale gas now becoming a dominant source due to the decline in conventional gas production and reserves. The Horn River Basin (HRB), a significant unconventional Devonian shale gas resource, located in North East British Columbia will need to be a major part of that energy mix. Currently, the HRB covers an area of approximately 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares or 139 townships) in NE BC stretching from Fort Nelson to the border of the Northwest Territories and has been estimated to contain 500 Tcf of gas.