Search for oil, gas probably biggest ever in Ontario

The Gazette - Wednesday, July 29, 1998

This article published in this web page  in co-operation with Daybreak Energy as an information tool.

TREADING SOFTLY: A drilling rig equipped with low ground pressure tires is moving across farm fields in McGillivray and Stephen Townships. Daybreak Energy Corp. of Calgary has commissioned a massive exploration of 23,000 acres, employing tiny dynamite charges and three dimensional seismic reading equipment to map underground geological formations, in hopes some of them are reservoirs for gas and/or oil. (Photo courtesy of Elliott's Land Services Ltd.)

Stephen and McGillivray Townships have been the site of a major search operation during the past month. The search, in farm fields and woodlands, is for hydrocarbons, oil and/or gas. And it is probably the biggest operation of its kind ever in Ontario.

A helicopter and crews on the ground are scouring 23,000 acres from Grand Bend airport area through Shipka, Greenway, Corbett and up to Dashwood area.

Exploration, using seismic recording devices and small charges of dynamite will continue through at least part of August, Wayne Karlen told The Gazette. Karlen is the Calgary based president of Daybreak Energy Corporation, the firm that has commissioned the search. The interim data is good, Karlen said. But much more study lies ahead.

Three dimensional seismic sounding readings will take about a month of processing by a large company. All of that information then will be studied by geologists and geophysicists, Karlen said. "We hope for a positive result."

So do area property owners who would receive a royalty - a percentage of the revenue from production of oil and gas pumped from their land. Daybreak Energy also pays an annual fee on narrow strips of land leased for the exploration project. Farmers are also compensated for any crop losses caused by land travel through fields.

"I'm learning more than I ever knew about farming," Karlen said. He expressed his appreciation for the patience and assistance of landowners. Karlen and his representatives of his firm's sub-contractors met with upwards of 200 landowners, most of them farmers, in May in Parkhill.

Elliott's Land Services Ltd. of Grand Bend did the leasing and mapping for the project. Solid State Geophysical Inc. is prime contractor for the exploration.

One result of that information session was the firm's discovery that most of the 23,000 acres have drain tiles beneath the surface. That led to employment of tile probing before drilling, Karlen said. "We have about 15,000 holes for shooting and have hit only two tiles, them company president said.

"We imported special drilling units with soft tires so crops aren't crushed, "Karlen added.

A helicopter is being employed to drop instruments and cables onto the ground, again to minimize traffic in fields. Crews in the ground are drilling holes and packing small charges of dynamite into them. The explosive sticks are about 1/75th the size used in Western Canada seismic exploration.

Residents are not disturbed by noise. The audible sound has about the same intensity as a small firecracker buried five metres in the ground, Karlen said.

His explorers are looking for specific geological underground formations that might serve as reservoirs of gas and oil. Among the targets are pinnacle reefs, appearing like cones with their tips pointing upwards.

Why was that area of Stephen and McGillivray chosen? Karlen said, "We felt the area is understudied." It is not part of the Grand Bend Field from which oil has been pumped since the 1950's near Greenway. To date, that field has produced 700,000 barrels, the energy firm president said.

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