Petroleum Resource Assessment, Peel Plateau and Plain, Yukon Territory, Canada

The Peel Plateau and Plain in the Yukon is a potentially prospective petroleum province that lies north of the Mackenzie Mountains and east of the Richardson Mountains up to the inter-territorial boundary. The area contains a Lower Cambrian to Upper Cretaceous stratigraphic succession up to approximately 4.5 km thick. Nineteen exploratory wells have been drilled within the region without economic reserves or production, but with some petroleum shows. A probablilistic petroleum resource assessment suggests that there is a significant potential for natural gas throughout the region with a summed mean play potential of approximately 83.428 x 109 m3 initial raw gas in place (~3 Tcf) in approximately 88 pools. The largest expected pool of 3.36 x 109 m3 gas is expected to occur in Mesozoic clastic rocks of the Peel Plain. In general, petroleum potential is inferred to decrease both westward, and with increasing depth and stratigraphic age. The small size of gas pools will be an impediment to their development because of their location. No crude oil potential can be estimated due to an inferred lack of oil-prone sources in strata of suitable maturity. Where previous work speculated that the history of petroleum systems in the Peel Plateau and Plain was distinctive from that of surrounding regions that are suitably characterized, this work finds no justification for such a distinctive petroleum system history. The resulting undiscovered potential is, therefore, considered to be consistent with the results of the exploration history.