Section IV, 1918 [89] Trans. R.S.C 



Preliminary Study of the Western Gas Fields of Canada. 

 By D. B. Bowling, B.Sc, F.R.S.C. 



(Read May Meeting, 1918.) 



Power and fuel seem to be necessary for the upbuilding of great 

 manufacturing industries, but only in late years have they appeared 

 necessary to the industries connected with the production of food. 

 By the introduction of internal combusion engines and the rapid 

 development of their use in transportation and, largely, in the sup- 

 planting of the use of animal power, the tilling of large areas on the 

 plains has been made possible without a corresponding increase of 

 man power. The increase in this form of energy has made great 

 demands on the store of the lighter oils; and this, in conjunction with 

 similar demands for war purposes, has made the search for other 

 oil fields a question of national importance. The supposition that 

 gas fields are an indication of underlying oil reserves has drawn 

 attention to the gas fields of Alberta, and there have been many 

 exploratory wells drilled. Unfortunately many of these were in improb- 

 able areas; but a few have demonstrated large extensions to the known 

 gas resources of the plains. 



As new uses are being found for this natural gas, which indicate 

 that from it some measure of relief may be found for a possible shortage 

 in the fuel for internal combustion engines, the importance of the 

 reserves and the areas in which they may be found is constantly 

 increasing. In the early history of the plains little value was attached 

 to the presence of gas unless it could be piped to centres of large 

 population to be used as fuel to replace coal. As noted above, re- 

 searches into the possible use of the gas for other purposes may succeed 

 in establishing industries at the wells for manufacturing many com- 

 pounds of value with the natural gas as the raw material. 



The discovery of natural gas at Alderson (Langevin) on the 

 Canadian Pacific railway in a well drilled for water about the year 

 1883 may be said to have been accidental. Another well was bored 

 at Cassils, but the flow at these wells was not considered important. 

 Small seeps of gas in the Saskatchewan river near Medicine Hat led 

 to the putting down of shallow wells there, and in the report of the 

 Geological Survey for 1900 it is mentioned that there were two wells 

 with a pressure of 115 pounds, which were providing gas for lime- 

 burning. These were comparatively shallow wells with small flow. 



