Manitoba Oil Facts

Did You Know That .........?   
(Printable Version)

• Manitoba has two potential areas for oil and gas production, southwest Manitoba and the Hudson Bay lowlands.
   

• Oil was discovered in Manitoba in, and has been produced since 1951.
   

• Manitoba's current oil production is located in southwest Manitoba along the northeastern flank of the Williston Basin, a sedimentary basin that also occupies portions of southern Saskatchewan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.
   

• Potential hydrocarbon bearing-formations in southwest Manitoba occur to depths of up to 2 300 metres (7,500 feet).
   

• The majority of the approximately 6,000 wells drilled in Manitoba have only been drilled to Mississippian formations; this represents approximately one half of the potential hydrocarbon bearing formations.
   

• Production in 2005 was 805899.7 m³ - 5,071,123 Barrels.  The month of December 2005 had the highest production on record - 92,714 m3 (583,402 Bbls) or 18,819 Bbls per day.
   

• There is over 70 kilometers of core from wells drilled in Manitoba available for examination.
   

• All pre-1980 oil production originated from Mississippian Lodgepole and Mission Canyon formations at depths that range from 600 to 1 050 metres (2,000 to 3,500 feet). These formations currently account for approximately 51% of Manitoba's production.
   

• Oil was discovered in 1980 above the Mississippian in the Jurassic Amaranth Formation. Approximately 19% of Manitoba's production originates from the Amaranth Formation in the Pierson-Waskada area.
   

• In 1985 oil was discovered in the Mississippian Bakken Formation in the Daly area. Production from the Bakken makes up 4% of the provincial total.
   

• In 1993, oil was discovered in the Jurassic Melita Formation in the St. Lazare area.
   

• In 2001, oil was discovered in the Devonian Three Forks Formation in the Daly Field, marking Manitoba’s first pre Mississippian Production.
   

• Manitoba's 2005 estimated oil production was 805,899 m³ (5 million barrels) up 26% from 2004.
  Total production to the end of 2005 was 37.6 million m3 (236.6 million barrels).
   

• Manitoba's oil is of good quality, and in 2005 the average selling price for light sour blend crude was $402.82 per cubic metre ($64.00 CDN per barrel). The estimated value of oil sold in 2005 was approximately $324 million.
   

• There are approximately 1,863 producing oil wells in Manitoba, 153 of which were put on production during 2005.
   

• In December 2005, average production rate for horizontal wells in the province is 2.87 m³ per day (18 barrels per day), compared to an average production rate of 1.16 m³ per day (7.3 barrels per day) for vertical wells. During 2005, horizontal wells accounted for 25% of the province’s total production.
   

• Currently there are 15 designated oil fields and 166 oil pools in southwest Manitoba.
   

• Manitoba's crude oil production is equivalent to approximately 25% of the province's refined petroleum products requirements.
   

• Approximately 8.2 million m³ (51.4 million barrels) of salt water were produced in 2005, that's 10.06 m3 of salt water for every 1 m³ of crude oil produced.  Salt water must be separated from the oil and re-injected into subsurface formations.
   

• Approximately 380 wells are used for purposes other than production, such as disposal of produced water
   

• The current cost to drill and complete a well in Manitoba ranges from $275,000 to $1.2 Million depending primarily on depth.
   

• 285 new wells were drilled in Manitoba during 2005 including 18 horizontal wells; of these 115 (96%) were cased as potential oil producers.
   

• Only 10 to 15% of the oil discovered in Manitoba is recoverable under natural depletion. Recovery may be increased to over 30% by water flooding.
   

• Approximately 48% of the producing wells are in waterflood projects and presently account for approximately 50% of the oil produced.
   

• As of December 31, 2003, the remaining established oil reserves were estimated to be 4.3 million m³ 
  (27.2 million barrels).
   

• Approximately 80% of the oil and gas rights are owned by private individuals or companies (freehold), the remaining 20% are owned by the Crown in the right of Manitoba.
   

• With a geothermal gradient of 1.3°C/m in the Virden area, thermally mature oil and gas can be generated in the rocks as shallow as a depth of 335 m.  This means the Cretaceous shales in Manitoba are excellent candidates for shallow gas exploration in most of the extreme southwest corner of Manitoba.
   

• Royalties payable to private oil and gas rights owners were estimated at $34 million in 2005.
   

• Total oil industry expenditures in Manitoba in 2005 were approximately $243 million.

 Conversions
1 cubic metre = 6.29 barrels
1 barrel = 35 gallons (Imperial)