Foreword -- Thematic studies in Bowser and Sustut Basins: establishing a geoscience framework for future resource assessment and development

Abstract

The collected papers comprising this special thematic issue of the Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology report the results of new studies conducted between 2003 and 2007 within the “Integrated Petroleum Resource Potential and Geoscience Studies of the Bowser and Sustut Basins” project. The project was a collaboration between the Geological Survey of Canada and the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (ESS NRD Y02-NR4050, ESS SCES Y60-NR4050; BCMEMPR Intermontane Basins Project), with additional monetary contributions from Geoscience BC (project 2005–036), and research contributions from the faculty and students of Simon Fraser University (NSERC Discovery Grant 611258 and BCMEMPR Research Grants 729062, 539153 held by P.S. Mustard), the University of Alberta (NSERC Discovery Grant A8508 held by J.W. F. Waldron), and the University of Calgary. The purpose of these studies was to both increase the efficiency of, and reduce the risk to, future Intermontane Belt petroleum exploration by advancing the understanding of the basic geological framework of the Bowser and Sustut basins and by filling major gaps in data. These papers contribute to that goal by providing significant new data and knowledge in research fields pertinent to petroleum exploration that, in most cases, have never before been undertaken in the Bowser and Sustut basins. The project had two related areas of activity. One was field-based with the purpose of increasing our understanding of the basic geological framework — stratigraphy and structure — including more precisely defining the location of map units on geological maps. A regional basin compilation map with one seamless stratigraphic nomenclature was a primary objective. The other focus of the project was a group of thematic analytical studies pertinent to defining petroleum systems and their history for the purpose of better understanding the petroleum prospectivity and exploration risks that will, in future, both assess the …