The Melville Island oil sands are a large deposit of oil sands (sometimes referred to as tar sands) on Melville Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.[1][2]
| Melville Island oil sands | |
|---|---|
 Map showing location of Melville Island in Canada. | |
| Country | Canada |
| Region | Nunavut |
| Offshore/onshore | Onshore, unconventional |
Exploration for petroleum deposits in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago began, on Melville Island, in 1961.[3] Oil sands deposits were found in the Marie Bay region in 1962, and other locations that are part of the Bjorne Formation.[4][5][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^
"Canada is consistently the top supplier of oil imports to the United States". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
In 2008, oil sands production represented approximately half of Canada's total crude oil production. The Athabasca oil sands deposit in northern Alberta is one of largest oil sands deposits in the world. There are also sizable oil sands deposits on Melville Island in the Canadian Arctic, and two smaller deposits in northern Alberta near Cold Lake and Peace River.
- ^ Thomas Gentzisa, Fariborz Goodarzib (June 1993). "Regional thermal maturity in the Franklinian Mobile Belt, Melville Island, Arctic Canada". Vol. 10, no. 3. Marine and Petroleum Geology. pp. 215–230. Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
- ^
"Canada's Arctic". Government of Alberta. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
The first Arctic Island well was drilled in 1961-62 by Dome Petroleum on Melville Island. Other wells followed on Cornwallis and Bathurst Islands. Although wells were abandoned, Melville Island was the site of further significant gas discoveries. Panarctic Petroleum, made up of industry and government initiatives, found gas at Drake Point on Melville Island in 1969.
- ^
"Canadian Arctic Islands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
Oil shows in Mesozoic sandstones at many localities within the western basin, e.g., Marie Bay oil sands on Melville Island (Bjorne Formation)
- ^ H. P. Trettin, L. V. Hills (1967-04-02). "Triassic Tar Sands of Melville Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago". Onepetro. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- ^ Robert Meneley (2008). "The Significance of Oil in the Sverdrup Basin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
The 100 million barrel tar sand deposit at Marie Bay (Trettin and Hills, 1966) on western Melville Island is held in a possible stratigraphic trap in the Bjorne Formation where conventional oil has been highly degraded by exposure at surface.