ABSTRACT: Lake Erie Gas: Is it a Jewel in the Rough for Talisman Energy Inc?

GORDON, KEITH, Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Onshore gas production around Lake Erie started in the late 1860s with the first wells producing offshore in the early 1900s. Since then approximately 2000 wells have been drilled on the lake.

Talisman Energy Inc. became a gas producer in Ontario in October 1997 with the purchase of Pembina Exploration Limited. This acquisition bought a 65% working interest of production, landholdings, seismic data and infrastructure on and around Lake Erie. The majority of the gas production is from beneath the lake, from Silurian aged reservoirs of the Whirlpool, Grimsby and Guelph formations. The Whirlpool and Grimsby are siliciclastics and produce sweet gas, predominately in the central and eastern end of the lake. Sour gas is produced from the Guelph Formation, a carbonate unit, which is generally found in central and western end of Lake Erie.

Since the Pembina acquisition Talisman has conducted an extensive evaluation of the Lake Erie property. This included aspects of the geology, seismic, drilling, completion, production and marketing. Although the gathering of data for this evaluation has been an onerous task, Talisman is committed to exploit the full potential of the Lake Erie property. To this end, an extensive program has been planned for the summer of 2000 including drilling, tie-ins and recompletions.

Search and Discovery Article #90907©2000 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, London, Ontario, Canada