Word to the Wise: Blueberry River First Nations area overview
November 16, 2021
Each week, XI Technologies scans its unique combination of enhanced industry data to provide trends and insights that have value for professionals doing business in the WCSB. If you’d like Wednesday Word to the Wise delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe here.
This summer, a BC Supreme Court judgment agreed with the 2015 claim that years of industrial development in the region violated the Treaty 8 rights of the Blueberry River First Nations. This ruling has potential implications for all new projects in northeastern BC, where several First Nations are signatories to Treaty 8. Blueberry River’s traditional territory is in the upper Peace River region of northeastern BC, representing about 38,000 square kilometres.
In October, the BC government signed an interim agreement with Blueberry River First Nations to provide funding to support land restoration and cultural programs and restart 195 forestry and oil and gas projects that had been placed on hold due to the court’s ruling. But 20 other projects, which had been approved, will not proceed without negotiation with the First Nation because they relate to development in areas of cultural importance.
Due to the increased interest in the area, both for what its precedent might signify for other areas and the uncertainty involved in future development in the area, XI Technologies thought it might prove useful to use our enriched industry data to offer a few insights as to what’s happening in the area from an oil and gas perspective.
Ownership of Blueberry River Assets
The above graphics detail the top producing companies in the Blueberry River claim area, as captured by XI’s AssetBook. Ranked by BOE, the biggest players in the area today are Ovintiv Canada ULC, Tourmaline Oil Corp, Arc Resources LTD, Petronas Energy Canada LTD, and Canadian Natural Resources Limited.
Looking ahead, here are the top companies with leases expiring in the upcoming year within the area and therefore those who will need to fully understand their ability to drill in this area to prove out those lands.
Click here to download a report of all companies with working interest in the area.
Production history of Blueberry River assets
Let’s investigate the area a little further by examining production levels over time.
As you can see, production has dramatically increased over the past few years, particularly for Ovintiv, Tourmaline and ARC Resources as this area has become economically active.
Top Producing Zones in Blueberry River Claim Area
This area is predominately the Montney play that has been capturing headlines for the past few years. This liquids-rich gas play will be of value to the producers in this area as well as the BC Government when restarting the projects that were put on hold.
If you’d like to learn more about how XI’s AssetSuite software can analyze areas throughout Western Canada, visit our website or contact XI Technologies. We’re hosting a webinar on Tuesday, November 23rd to demonstrate how we make it easier to achieve regulatory compliance when starting a new drill, click here to register.