ABSTRACT: The Sukunka-Bullmoose Playtrend in the Foothills of NE British Columbia

COOPER, MARK A., RICK GREEN, GREG BECKER, EDWARD W. BOGLE, GERRY MACEY, MICHAEL L. MORRISON, and JEFF REID, BP Canada Resources Limited, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The Sukunka-Bullmoose area lies within the foothIlls of the Canadian Rockies in northeastern British Columbia. The area has been explored for natural gas since the mid 1950s and contains a number of fields that produce sour gas from the platform carbonates of the Upper Triassic Pardonet and Baldonnel formations. The current phase of drilling commenced in 1987 and has been remarkably successful with 11 of 14 wells for which information is available discovering gas. The area is topographically difficult and structurally complex with a number of detachments that compartmentalize the deformation within distinct tectonostratigraphic units. The acquisition, processing, and interpretation of seismic data in this area is technically difficult and requires careful analysis to yield good result . The integration of the seismic, well, and surface geology data is essential for the accurate definition of subsurface targets.

The traps are primarily tip (fault propagation) folds that detach in the shale-dominated lower Triassic. The structural style has been interpreted from stratigraphic and detailed dip data provided by the FMS logging tool. Fracturing pervasive in the crest and forelimbs of the folds enhances the tight reservoir to yield typical flowrates of 40 MMCFGD. The key to success in the play is to target these portions of the folds and to guide the well to the target despite deviation due to the complex structures.

The play is considered to have yet-to-find OGIP of approximately tcf and should yield some exciting new discoveries in the next 5-10 years as drilling continues.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91012©1992 AAPG Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 22-25, 1992 (2009)