The Canol Project: Antecedent for Leduc?

Abstract

The Norman Wells field, discovered by Imperial Oil in 1920, is located in the Northwest Territories approximately 145 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. The field underwent a major development during World War II to supply fuel in support of North American forces. The development project, named Canol (Canadian Oil), included 67 new drill wells and a pipeline from Norman Wells to a purpose built refinery at Whitehorse, Yukon. More than 20,000 workers completed the Canol pipeline in less than two years. The Canol pipeline was 10 cm in diameter and carried 3000 barrels of oil per day. The pipeline project was conceived and executed with very little understanding of northern design and construction conditions. Between the time construction began in October 1942 until the Whitehorse refinery commenced operations on April 30, 1944, a total of 2,650 km of pipelines, 830 km of gravel roads, 1,600 km of telephone lines, 2,400 km of winter roads, and 10 aircraft landing strips constructed at an estimated total project cost of between 135 to 300 million in 1942/43 dollars. The first oil reached Whitehorse in April 1944 and the project was abandoned in April 1945. All that remains of the project today are abandoned camps, relic vehicles, pipeline sections and pump stations, which are a legacy of the 35 month period during which the Canol project was conceived, constructed, operated and abandoned. The path of the Canol pipeline is used today by hikers and mountain-bikers to travel deep into the interior of the Northwest Territories and Yukon One of the major benefits of this ill-fated venture was the fact that to meet the needs of the refinery, Imperial drilled more wells, and began to get a better understanding of the Norman Wells reservoir. Of particular note, the company discovered that it was a Devonian reef complex– of earlier vintage than the Leduc and Redwater fields soon to be discovered in Alberta, but still a Devonian reef. That turned out to be the geological key. With the Japanese finally losing the War, Canol exploration efforts were cancelled and most of the geologists ended up in Imperial Oil. The dye had been cast, however, reefoid geology had come to Imperial Oil. At the time this meant very little to Alberta because the major play at that time was dominated by rocks of Mississippian age. The expertise gathered during the Canol Project played a significant role in the eventual discovery of the Devonian reef trends in Alberta.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90259 ©2016 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 19-22, 2016