imported>Volcanoguy: added Category:Shale formations of Canada using HotCat

2025-06-04T22:55:37Z

added Category:Shale formations of Canada using HotCat

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{{Short description|Stratigraphical unit}}
{{Infobox Rockunit
| name = Montney Formation
| image = Montney FM.JPG
| caption =
| type = [[Geological formation]]
| age = {{Fossil range|Anisian|Anisian|[[Anisian]]}}
| period = Anisian
| prilithology = [[Siltstone]] and [[shale]]
| otherlithology = [[Dolomite (mineral)|Dolomitic]] siltstone, [[sandstone]]
| namedfor = [[Montney, British Columbia]]
| namedby = J.H. Armitage, 1962
| region = [[British Columbia]], [[Alberta]]
| country = [[Canada]]
| coordinates = {{coord|56.57159|N|121.2219|W|name=Buick Creek No. 7 well|display=inline,title}}
| unitof =
| subunits =
| underlies = [[Doig Formation]], [[Fernie Group]]
| overlies = [[Belloy Formation]]
| thickness = up to {{convert|280|m|ft|-1}}<ref name=lexicon>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:010064|title=Montney Formation|author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |accessdate=2009-02-07}}</ref>
| extent =
| area = {{convert|130000|km2|-1}}<ref name=cbcnov1016>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/montney-natural-gas-challenges-1.3829007 "The lowdown on the Montney: Canada's next big energy bet has same high stakes as oilsands" 2 Nov 2016 CBC]</ref>
| map = {{Location map+ | Canada
| relief = 1
| width = 300
| float = center
| places =
{{Location map~ | Canada
| lat_deg = 56.5
| lon_deg = -121.2
| mark = Pink ff0080 pog.svg
| marksize = 12
}}
}}
| map_caption =
}}

[[File:Montney Formation.jpg|thumb|261px|Montney Formation]]

The '''Montney Formation''' is a [[stratigraphic unit]] of [[Lower Triassic]] [[Geochronology|age]] in the [[Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin]] in [[British Columbia]] and [[Alberta]].

It takes the name from the hamlet of [[Montney, British Columbia|Montney]] and was first described in [[Texaco]]'s Buick Creek No. 7 well by J.H. Armitage in 1962.<ref>Armitage, 1962; ASPG</ref> The well was drilled {{convert|41|km|mi|sp=us}} north of [[Fort St. John, British Columbia|Fort St. John]], immediately east of the [[Alaska Highway]].

==Lithology==
The formation is composed of [[siltstone]] and dark grey [[shale]], with [[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomitic]] siltstone in the base and fine grained [[sandstone]] towards the top.<ref name=lexicon/> The [[facies]] is [[shale]]y in the north and west of the extent ([[Fort St. John, British Columbia|Fort St. John]]), [[siltstone|silty]] in the center ([[Dawson Creek, British Columbia|Dawson Creek]] and [[Pouce Coupe, British Columbia|Pouce Coupe]] areas) and becomes coarser ([[sandstone|sandy]]) in western Alberta ([[Valleyview, Alberta|Valleyview]] area).<ref name=chinook/>

===Oil and gas production===
{{see also|Coastal GasLink Pipeline|LNG Canada}}
The Montney Formation is a major [[shale gas]] and [[tight oil]] resource. A comprehensive joint study on the potential of the Montney Formation was completed by the National Energy Board, British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission and the Alberta Energy Regulator in 2013. This study found that the potential resources contained within the formation were 449 trillion cubic feet of marketable natural gas, 14,521 million barrels of marketable [[natural gas liquids]] (NGLs) and 1,125 million barrels of oil. This estimate makes it one of the largest known gas resources in the world and equivalent to 145 years of Canada's 2012 consumption.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.canadianenergylawblog.com/2013/11/14/new-report-doubles-previous-estimates-of-montney-formation-natural-gas-reserves-in-british-columbia-and-alberta/ |title=New Report Doubles Previous Estimates of Montney Formation Natural Gas Reserves in British Columbia and Alberta | Canadian Energy Perspectives |access-date=2014-06-05 |archive-date=2015-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016192740/http://www.canadianenergylawblog.com/2013/11/14/new-report-doubles-previous-estimates-of-montney-formation-natural-gas-reserves-in-british-columbia-and-alberta/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/nrg/sttstc/ntrlgs/rprt/ltmtptntlmntnyfrmtn2013/ltmtptntlmntnyfrmtn2013fq-eng.html | title=NEB – Frequently Asked Questions - an assessment of the unconventional petroleum resources in the Montney Formation, West-Central Alberta and East-Central British Columbia| date=2018-09-13}}</ref>

[[Natural gas|Gas]] is produced from the Montney Formation in both [[British Columbia]] and [[Alberta]]. Major operators include Seven Generations Energy Ltd., Progress Energy Canada Ltd. (a subsidiary of Malaysia's [[PETRONAS]]), Painted Pony Energy Ltd., [[Royal Dutch Shell]] plc, [[Encana]] Corporation, [[Murphy Oil]] Corporation, [[ARC Resources]] Ltd., and [[Advantage Oil & Gas]] Ltd.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.dailyoilbulletin.com/article/2015/3/31/frac-fluid-completion-technology-can-have-big-impa/ | title=Frac Fluid, Completion Technology Can Have Big Impact on Well Performance, Montney Study Finds | Daily Oil Bulletin| date=31 March 2015}}</ref><ref name=bbg8nov>[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-08/talisman-sells-montney-assets-to-progress-for-1-4-billion.html "Talisman Sells Montney to Petronas for $1.4 Billion" 8 Nov 2013 Bloomberg]</ref> and [[Petroleum|oil]] is produced from the formation in [[Northern Alberta]].<ref name=chinook>{{Cite web|url=http://chinookconsulting.ca/News/Montney.html|title=The Montney Play|accessdate=2009-05-21}}</ref> [[Horizontal drilling]] and extensive [[Hydraulic fracturing|fracturing]] process is necessary to have the fluid flow through the low [[Permeability (earth sciences)|permeability]] siltstone. [[Shale gas]] extraction emerged in the late 2000s in the distal facies of the formation's western extent.

==Hydraulic fracturing in Canada==
{{main|Hydraulic fracturing in Canada}}
Massive hydraulic fracturing has been widely used in [[Alberta]] since the late 1970s.<ref>{{citation |first1=Douglas J. |last1=Cant |first2=Valerie G. |last2=Ethier |title=Lithology-dependent diagenetic control of reservoir properties of conglomerates, Falher member, Elmworth Field, Alberta |journal=Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists |date=August 1984 |volume=68 |number=8 }}</ref>{{rp|1044}} The method is currently used in development of the [[Cardium Formation|Cardium]], [[Duvernay Formation|Duvernay]], Montney and [[Viking Formation|Viking]] formations in [[Alberta]], [[Bakken Formation|Bakken]] formation in [[Saskatchewan]], Montney and [[Horn River Formation|Horn River]] formations in [[British Columbia]].

==Distribution==
The Montney Formation reaches maximum thickness in the foothills of the northern [[Canadian Rockies]] at {{convert|280|m|ft|sp=us}}, and thins out towards the north up to the [[Fort Nelson, British Columbia|Fort Nelson]] area and towards the east to [[Peace River, Alberta|Peace River]].

==Relationship to other units==
Montney Formation is [[unconformity|unconformably]] overlain by [[Jurassic]] or [[Cretaceous]] beds such as the [[Doig Formation]] or [[Fernie Group]] and unconformably underlain by the [[Permian]] or [[Carboniferous]] strata such as the [[Belloy Formation]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin|Northwest_Plains=yes}}
{{Shale gas}}

[[Category:Geologic formations of Alberta]]
[[Category:Geologic formations of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Oil-bearing shales in Canada]]
[[Category:Natural gas fields in Canada]]
[[Category:Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin]]
[[Category:Early Triassic]]
[[Category:Triassic Alberta]]
[[Category:Triassic British Columbia]]
[[Category:Triassic System of North America]]
[[Category:Siltstone formations of Canada]]
[[Category:Sandstone formations of Canada]]
[[Category:Shale formations of Canada]]

Montney Formation - Revision history

imported>Volcanoguy: added Category:Shale formations of Canada using HotCat