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1. Peel
Exposure of the Upper Devonian-Lower
Carboniferous Tuttle Formation, East
Richardson Mountains,
(Trail River mapsheet NTS 106L).
Peel Plateau Petroleum Project, Yukon
Portions of 116I, 106E, F, K and L
Tammy Allen and Tiffani Fraser (partnership with NTGO, GSC, university affiliates)
The Peel Plateau and Plain in the Yukon is a potentially prospective petroleum province that is located north of the Mackenzie Mountains and east of the Richardson Mountains, spanning the Yukon-Northwest Territories border. A 2005 Petroleum Resource Assessment Report (YGS Open File 2005-3) determined that significant undiscovered petroleum potential exists in the Peel Plateau and Plain despite failure of historical exploration efforts in the 1960s and 1970s. The greatest potential for natural gas is inferred to occur in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic clastic successions (536 and 2215 Bcf, respectively). Oil Potential has not been identified.
The Peel Plateau and Plain in the Yukon is underexplored. Knowledge of the area is limited to bedrock mapping, 19 wells and 2-dimensional seismic data, all acquired in the 1960s to 1970s. Recently, the Yukon has partnered with the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), the Northwest Territories Geoscience Office (NTGO), industry and university affiliates to form a working relationship under the title 'Regional Geoscience Studies and Petroleum Potential, Peel Plateau and Plain, Northwest Territories and Yukon'. This is a four-year endeavour which began in 2005. The project aims to gain a better understanding of the petroleum potential of the Peel Plateau and Plain.
This year, Yukon geologists will be looking at Upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic clastic systems. These systems were identified in the 2005 Resource Assessment as the most prospective plays. The program will involve detailed sedimentological fieldwork, laboratory analyses, and subsequent subsurface analysis of existing well log and reflection seismic data.
More on Tammy and Tiffani's work on Peel Project
References
Allen, T.L. and Fraser, T.A., 2008. Hydrocarbon potential of Upper Paleozoic strata, eastern Richardson Mountains, northern Mackenzie Mountains and Peel Plateau, Yukon. In: Yukon Exploration and Geology 2007, D.S. Emond, L.R. Blackburn, R.P. Hill and L.H. Weston (eds.), Yukon Geological Survey, p. 91-114.
Allen, T.L., Fraser, T.A. and K.G. Osadetz. 2008. Rock-Eval/TOC data for 18 wells, Peel Plateau and Plain, Yukon Territory (65º 50’ to 67º 00’ N; 133º 45’ to 135º 15’ W). Yukon Geological Survey, Open File 2008-1, 14 p. plus spreadsheet(s).
Fraser, T. and T. Allen, 2007. Field investigations of the Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous Tuttle Formation, eastern Richardson Mountains, Yukon. In: Yukon Exploration and Geology 2006, D.S. Emond, L.L. Lewis and L.H. Weston (eds.), Yukon Geological Survey, p. 157-173.
Gal, L.P., Allen, T.L., Fraser, T.A., Hadlari, T., Lemieux, Y., Pyle, L.J., and Zantvoort, W.G., 2007. Rock-Eval 6 / TOC analyses from outcrop samples in northern Mackenzie Mountains, eastern Richardson Mountains, and southern Peel Plateau and Plain, Northwest Territories and Yukon, Canada; Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, NWT Open Report 2007-002 / Yukon Open File 2007-1, 11 p. report, Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet and ESRI ArcView® files.
Lemieux, Y; Gal, L P; Pyle, L J; Hadlari, T; Zantvoort, W. 2007. Report of activities on the structural geology of southern Peel Plateau and Peel Plain region, Northwest Territories and Yukon; Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research 2007-A3; 9 p.
Pyle, L J; Allen, T L; Fraser, T A; Gal, L P; Hadlari, T; Jones, A L; Lemieux, Y; Zantvoort, W G. 2007. Field-based stratigraphic studies in the Peel Plateau, Peel Plain, and adjacent areas, Northwest Territories and Yukon; Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research 2007-A7; 11 p.
Pyle, L.J., Jones, A.L., and Gal, L.P. 2006: Geoscience Knowledge Synthesis: Peel Plateau and Plain, a prospective hydrocarbon province in the Northern Mackenzie Corridor; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5234, Northwest Territories Open File 2006-01.