Anticosti Island, quebec
Corridor has interests varying from 50% to 100% in 1,530,943 gross acres (891,906 net acres) in more than 30 exploration licences covering lands across most of Anticosti Island. These licences cover and offset lands where Shell and Calpine (formerly Encal) conducted 400 kilometres of modern seismic and drilled five exploration wells in 1998 and 1999 pursuant to a farm-out agreement with Corridor.
In 2010, Corridor completed an oil exploration program on Anticosti Island. The following three wells were drilled in the east central part of the island.
Well |
Timing of Drilling Completion |
Measured Depth (metres) |
Corridor Working Interest |
Jupiter |
July 20, 2010 |
2,038 |
75% |
Chaloupe |
Aug. 25, 2010 |
1,639 |
50% |
Saumon |
Sep. 1, 2010 |
1,223 |
75% |
The Jupiter well was a re-entry of the Corridor/Hydro-Québec Jupiter well and was drilled directionally in an attempt to encounter dolomitized and fractured carbonates in the Mingan and Romaine formations. The well encountered live oil shows in the Mingan Formation but no significant reservoir potential, and has been abandoned. The Chaloupe well was drilled with a sub-horizontal leg in the Black River section. The well encountered only minor dolomitized carbonates with no apparent reservoir development. The Saumon well was drilled with a sub-horizontal leg in the Black River section. The well encountered only minor dolomitized carbonates but had very permeable reservoir development in fractured Black River carbonates. The well flowed a total of 47 cubic meters of salt water to surface, including an initial flow of 27 cubic meters (170 barrels) in the first 45 minutes. The high apparent reservoir permeability encountered, while water bearing in this well, is encouraging for future oil exploration in the area.
The presence of live oil shows and permeable reservoir development combined with the very large number of prospects are positive factors for future oil exploration on the island. A key objective for the Anticosti drilling program was to core part of the oil bearing Macasty shale overlying the Trenton/Black River formation in the Chaloupe well. A conventional core of approximately 27 metres was recovered and analysis of the reservoir character and fluid content of the core was undertaken. The following table shows the results of the full diameter core cut in the Macasty formation of the Chaloupe well.
Core Parameters |
Macasty Shale |
Mineralogy (Average %) |
Quartz 37, Carbonate 25, Clays 21, Other 17 |
Macasty Total Thickness |
40 m (131 ft) |
Total Matrix Porosity |
3.1 to 6.3% (Average 4.9%) |
Oil Saturation |
35.2 to 48.3% (Average 41.9%) |
Gas Saturation |
1.0 to 14.7% (Average 5.0%)(1) |
Water Saturation |
41.5 to 63.8% (Average 53.1%)(2) |
Desorbed Gas Content (Ave) |
41 scf/ton |
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) |
1.9 to 3.87 weight% (Ave 2.97 weight%) |
Maturity |
0.55 (Ro %)(3) |
Main Kerogen Type |
Type II |
Oil Gravity |
35+ API |
- Gas underestimated due to lack of pressure preservation
- Water saturation is overestimated as it includes water expelled from clays within the shales
- Reflectance suppressed by high oil saturation
These results are positive indicators for the potential of significant oil initially-in-place within the Macasty shale formation in Anticosti Island. Corridor and Petrolia engaged Schlumberger Canada to analyze the petrophysical logs using the results from the core analysis to calibrate the logs. Schlumberger Canada computed an average porosity and an average oil saturation for the Macasty formation and English Head formations in the Chaloupe #1 well. Schlumberger calculated high hydrocarbon saturations (80%) and porosities (6% effective) in the Macasty formation, with saturation and porosity declining in the overlying English Head Formation. The oil-prospective Macasty shale is present across virtually the entire island, with Corridor holding 891,906 net acres (1,530,943 gross acres) in this potential unconventional oil play.
Corridor and Petrolia are actively evaluating their joint venture options regarding further exploration and determination of resource potential on Anticosti Island, in order to ensure that optimal shareholder value is obtained from the ongoing programs. The Anticosti exploration program is at an early stage; further work is required to determine the potential for commercially viable resource recovery, prior to proceeding to any development phase.
Corridor Resources/Petrolia
Petrolia/Corridor Resources
Junex
Excluded Park
