Integrating Resource Potential, Infrastructure and Environmental Information to Compare Exploration Opportunities in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area, Northeast British Columbia, Canada

Ben J. Kerr, Warren Walsh, and Mark Hayes
B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Victoria, BC

The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (MKMA) is an area of land designated for various levels of use, protection and conservation. The MKMA covers an area of 6.4 million hectares of wilderness in the Rocky Mountains and foothills of northeast British Columbia, Canada. The MKMA is composed of parks and protected areas where no resource extraction is permitted, and areas where resource extraction is allowed to occur under stricter environmental standards than elsewhere in the province. The combination of challenging topography and a wide variety of environmental considerations could make initial exploration planning complex. Access management has been identified as one of the biggest concerns related to permitting resource extraction activities in the MKMA.

This paper demonstrates the applicability and benefits of using a Geographic Information System based approach to combining information on in-place resource potential and access opportunities in the context of the unique environmental concerns that must be considered to operate in the MKMA. Based on the premise that exploration will extend from previously established infrastructure (road and pipeline) networks, several areas are selected for detailed analysis. These areas are compared and contrasted by performing spatial analysis using their oil and gas potential, physiographic and environmental characteristics, and proximity to existing infrastructure. This data will be used for land use planning, environmental studies and economic assessments.