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ARTICLE · 08 DECEMBER 2014

Alberta Extends With "Play-Based" Regulation Experiment

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
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The Alberta Energy Regulator has extended its pilot project for a "play-based" regulatory framework for unconventional oil and gas development in part of the Duvernay shale play in west-central Alberta.

CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
Alan Harvie
Alan Harvie
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The Alberta Energy Regulator ("AER") has extended its pilot project for a "play-based" regulatory framework for unconventional oil and gas development in part of the Duvernay shale play in west-central Alberta.

The Duvernay shale play is a large, developing shale play covering much of western and northern Alberta and eastern British Columbia. It is particularly rich in light oil and petroleum liquids such as propane and butane. Hydraulic fracturing has been key in developing the vast underground rock formation that covers an area the size of South Korea.

The Duvernay play is still in its early stages with only about 200 wells drilled to date, with about 60 wells completed and on production. The average initial production rate is about 2.5 mmcf per well per day. The Kaybob area in the northwestern portion of the Duvernay is particularly liquids rich, with some wells having condensate yields of 200 - 480 barrels a day.

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