Cardium Formation
Encyclopedia
The Cardium Formation is a stratigraphical
unit of Upper Cretaceous age
in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
.
It takes the name from the Cockle
(Cardiidae) shells, and was first described along the Bow River
banks by James Hector
in 1895.
, with massive sandstone beds separated by shale
. The formation is sub-divided into the following members from top to base: Sturrock Member (sandstone), Leyland Member (shale), Cardinal Member(sandstone), Kiska Member (shale), Moosehound Member (shale) and Ram Member(sandstone). In central Alberta, the formation is divided into the Pembina River Member and Cardium Zone.
is produced from the Cardium Formation in the Athabasca River
area and the foothills in western Alberta, and oil
is produced in central Alberta
in the Pembina oil field
. The formation has good storage potential and stratigraphical traps are formed by the thick overlying shale
s of the Wapiabi Formation and Muskiki Formation
, while the underlying black shale of the Blackstone Formation and Kaskapau Formation
are good source rock
s.
The Cardium Formation had an initial established recoverable oil
reserve
of 305 million m³, with 220.9 million m³ already produced as of 2008. Gas
reserves totaled 88.3 million m³, with 30.8 million m³ already produced.
Drilling for oil in the Cardium Formation rebounded in 2009, when horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing technology increased the oil recovery factor. Driven by technology, drilling in the four decades old Pembina oil field
increased, re-launching the field to the center of Alberta's oil economy.
), PennWest
, Paramount Resources
( through its acquisition of Profound Energy), Crescent Point Energy , and the smaller Bellatrix , Delphy Energy , Peyto Energy Trust . Dozens of other companies have land leases in the Cardium fairway, but have not employed horizontal drilling in the Cardium.
-United States
border to north-eastern British Columbia
near Dawson Creek
, and west-east from the Canadian Rockies
foothills to the prairie plains of southern
and central Alberta
. Eastwards, the sandstone grades to shale.
It was deposited during the Turonian
and Coniacian
stages of the Late Cretaceous
along the western edge of the Alberta Foreland Basin.
.
Due to its large areal extent and regional marker startus, it is part of different stratigraphical groups (Alberta Group
, Colorado Group
, Smoky Group
).
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
unit of Upper Cretaceous age
Geochronology
Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments, within a certain degree of uncertainty inherent to the method used. A variety of dating methods are used by geologists to achieve this, and schemes of classification and terminology have been proposed...
in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin is a vast sedimentary basin underlying of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. It consists of a massive wedge of sedimentary rock...
.
It takes the name from the Cockle
Cockle (bivalve)
Cockle is the common name for a group of small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....
(Cardiidae) shells, and was first described along the Bow River
Bow River
The Bow River is a river in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River, and is considered the headwater of the Nelson River....
banks by James Hector
James Hector
Sir James Hector was a Scottish geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist...
in 1895.
Lithology
The Cardium Formation is primarily represented by marine sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, with massive sandstone beds separated by shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
. The formation is sub-divided into the following members from top to base: Sturrock Member (sandstone), Leyland Member (shale), Cardinal Member(sandstone), Kiska Member (shale), Moosehound Member (shale) and Ram Member(sandstone). In central Alberta, the formation is divided into the Pembina River Member and Cardium Zone.
Oil/gas production
Natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
is produced from the Cardium Formation in the Athabasca River
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada...
area and the foothills in western Alberta, and oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
is produced in central Alberta
Central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province...
in the Pembina oil field
Pembina oil field
The Pembina oil field is one of the largest and most prolific conventional oil fields in the province of Alberta, Canada.The mature field is centered around Drayton Valley and is named for the Pembina River, which crosses the region from south-west to north-east.It taps in the Cretaceous deposits...
. The formation has good storage potential and stratigraphical traps are formed by the thick overlying shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
s of the Wapiabi Formation and Muskiki Formation
Muskiki Formation
The Muskiki Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Late Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Muskiki Lake and Muskiki Creek, a tributary of the Cardinal River, and was first described in an outcrop along the Thistle Creek, north of Muskiki Lake, in the...
, while the underlying black shale of the Blackstone Formation and Kaskapau Formation
Kaskapau Formation
The Kaskapau Formation is a geological formation in North America whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous.The name derives from kaskapahtew , the Cree word for "smoky".. It was first described on the banks of the Smoky River, close to the confluence with the Puskwaskau River by F.H...
are good source rock
Source rock
In petroleum geology, source rock refers to rocks from which hydrocarbons have been generated or are capable of being generated. They form one of the necessary elements of a working petroleum system. They are organic-rich sediments that may have been deposited in a variety of environments including...
s.
The Cardium Formation had an initial established recoverable oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
reserve
Oil reserves
The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...
of 305 million m³, with 220.9 million m³ already produced as of 2008. Gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
reserves totaled 88.3 million m³, with 30.8 million m³ already produced.
Drilling for oil in the Cardium Formation rebounded in 2009, when horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing technology increased the oil recovery factor. Driven by technology, drilling in the four decades old Pembina oil field
Pembina oil field
The Pembina oil field is one of the largest and most prolific conventional oil fields in the province of Alberta, Canada.The mature field is centered around Drayton Valley and is named for the Pembina River, which crosses the region from south-west to north-east.It taps in the Cretaceous deposits...
increased, re-launching the field to the center of Alberta's oil economy.
Public companies
Throughout 2009, there has been consolidation underway, where land sales, corporate transactions, and consolidation of public companies with Cardium assets have been acquired by those intending to apply newer recovery techniques to improve field economics. Oil and gas companies that are part of this activity include: PetroBakken , Daylight Resources Trust ' onMouseout='HidePop("20368")' href="/topics/West_Energy">West EnergyWest Energy
West Energy Ltd. was a Canadian energy exploration company that operates mainly in Western Canada. West is notable for its focus on the Nisku area, as well as its high success rate in terms of finding and drilling wells successfully.-Overview:...
), PennWest
Penn West Energy Trust
Penn West Exploration is a Canadian oil and natural gas company based in Calgary, Alberta, one of the S&P/TSX 60, the sixty largest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Until the end of 2010 it was one of the companies known as "Canroys"...
, Paramount Resources
Paramount Resources
Paramount Resources Ltd. was a Canadian petroleum company incorporated in 1978. The company is involved in the exploration, development, production, processing, transportation and marketing of natural gas and its byproducts and crude oil. The founder, chairman and CEO is Clay Riddell....
( through its acquisition of Profound Energy), Crescent Point Energy , and the smaller Bellatrix , Delphy Energy , Peyto Energy Trust . Dozens of other companies have land leases in the Cardium fairway, but have not employed horizontal drilling in the Cardium.
Distribution
The Cardium Formation extends south-north from the CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
border to north-eastern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
near Dawson Creek
Dawson Creek, British Columbia
Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 11,529 in 2009. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after George Mercer Dawson by a member of his land...
, and west-east from the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
foothills to the prairie plains of southern
Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of the year 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat...
and central Alberta
Central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province...
. Eastwards, the sandstone grades to shale.
It was deposited during the Turonian
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 93.5 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.3 ± 1 Ma...
and Coniacian
Coniacian
The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series and spans the time between 89.3 ± 1 Ma and 85.8 ± 0.7 Ma...
stages of the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
along the western edge of the Alberta Foreland Basin.
Relationship to other units
The Cardium Formation is conformably overlain by the Wapiabi Formation and underlain by the Blackstone Formation. The formation is partly equivalent to the Kaskapau FormationKaskapau Formation
The Kaskapau Formation is a geological formation in North America whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous.The name derives from kaskapahtew , the Cree word for "smoky".. It was first described on the banks of the Smoky River, close to the confluence with the Puskwaskau River by F.H...
.
Due to its large areal extent and regional marker startus, it is part of different stratigraphical groups (Alberta Group
Alberta Group
The Alberta Group is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the province of Alberta, and was first described in outcrops along the Highwood River in southern Alberta by G.S. Hume in 1930....
, Colorado Group
Colorado Group
The Colorado Group, also called the Colorado shale, is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It was first described in the Rocky Mountains front ranges of Colorado by A. Hague and S.E...
, Smoky Group
Smoky Group
The Smoky Group is a stratigraphical unit of Late Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the Smoky River, and was first described in outcrops along the banks of the Smoky River, Spirit River and Pouce Coupe Rivers by George Mercer Dawson in...
).