STRATIGRAPHY AND POTENTIAL HYDROCARBON OBJECTIVES OF

MISSISSIPPIAN TO LOWER CRETACEOUS STRATA IN THE EASTERN LIARD

BASIN AREA
P. MONAHAN, P. GEO.

INTRODUCTION
The recent discovery of gas in Lower Cretaceous Chinkeh sandstone has renewed exploration
interest in the Liard Basin of northeast British Columbia. This area is relatively unexplored,
particularly below the base of the Cretaceous System. Some small gas pools were discovered in
Mississippian and Permian strata in the 1970's, but they were uneconomic to develop at the time.
Now with development of the Chinkeh play, these and other reservoirs are again potential
exploration targets. However, with the exception of the Chinkeh (Leckie et al., 1991) and Scatter
sandstones (Leckie and Potocki, 1998), the hydrocarbon potential of the Liard Basin has not been
addressed in the recent literature. The objective of this report is to briefly describe the stratigraphy
and potential hydrocarbon objectives from the base of the Mississippian System to the Lower
Cretaceous Scatter Formation in this area1.
The area investigated includes the western three quarters of National Topographic System (NTS)
mapsheet 94-0, comprising maps 94-0-2 to 7 and 94-O-10 to 15. This area extends from 20
kilometres northwest of Fort Nelson to the Northwest Territories and Yukon borders. This study
is based primarily on the interpretation and correlation of well logs, with reference to sample and
core descriptions and core photographs in the files of the Ministry of Energy and Mines in
Victoria. This report is accompanied by two maps and a suite of 10 stratigraphic cross sections,
listed below:
Map 1. Regional trends
Map 2. Cross section locations
Cross section B1. North-south, showing stratigraphic changes along the Bovie Lake
structure
Cross section B2. North-south, showing stratigraphic changes along the Bovie Lake
structure
Cross section M1. Northeast-southwest, Triassic to Lower Cretaceous (Grayling to
Scatter)
Cross section M2. East-west, Triassic to Lower Cretaceous (Grayling to Scatter)
Cross section M3. East-west, Triassic to Lower Cretaceous (Grayling to Scatter)
Cross section M4. East-west, Triassic to Lower Cretaceous (Grayling to Scatter)
Cross section P1. Northeast-southwest, Upper Mississippian to Permian (Golata to
Fantasque)
1

The exclusion of the Devonian System from this report should not be taken as an indication that it
lacks potential. Rather it needs to be considered in a broader geographic context and is beyond
the scope of this report.
1

Cross section P2. East-west, Upper Mississippian to Permian (Golata to Fantasque)

Cross section P3. East-west, Upper Mississippian to Permian (Golata to Fantasque)
Cross section P4. East-west, Upper Devonian to Upper Mississippian (Exshaw to Debolt).
REGIONAL SETTING AND STRUCTURE
The Liard Basin is an asymmetric north-trending structural trough located immediately east of the
Cordilleran fold and thrust belt. It is 80 kilometres wide by 200 kilometres long and has over 5000
metres of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary fill (Map 1; Wright et al., 1994). This report
focusses on the eastern part of the Liard Basin and part of the adjoining platform. The report area
is located in the northwestern part of the Fort Nelson Lowland and is generally underlain by
gently dipping Cretaceous strata (Holland, 1976). In the Liard Basin, Upper Cretaceous
Dunvegan conglomerates and Kotaneelee shales outcrop, but to the east outcrops are primarily
the Lower and Upper Cretaceous Fort St. John Group shales. However, the Mississippian
Mattson and Debolt Formations are exposed locally in a culmination of the Bovie Lake structure
in the northernmost part of the study area (Map 1; Taylor and Stott, 1986; Stott, 1982; MacIntyre
et al., 1998). Debolt strata are also exposed on the Petitot River 10 kilometres northeast of the
project area on the Celibeta High (Map 1; Douglas and Norris, 1959; Williams, 1977).
Structurally, the area is dominated by the north-trending Bovie Lake structure, which forms the
eastern boundary of the Liard Basin (Map 1; Williams, 1977; Leckie et al., 1991; Wright et al.,
1994). This structure is a complex feature that has seen several periods of activity since the end of
the Mississippian. Regionally, Mississippian strata are displaced downward up to 1200 metres on
the west side of the structure, and the structure forms the approximate eastern limits of all strata
between the Mississippian Debolt Formation and the upper part of the Lower Cretaceous Garbutt
Formation. Vertical displacement at the level of the Lower Cretaceous Scatter Formation is a few
hundred metres. However, the crest of the structure is anticlinal in form (Taylor and Stott, 1986;
see also representative seismic sections in Leckie et al., 1991 and Wright et al., 1994) and four
small gas pools occur in the Mississippian Mattson and Permian Fantasque Formations in
culminations on the structure (Table 1; Cross sections B1 and B2). Furthermore, complex changes
in thickness occur along the structure, indicating that it is segmented and the sense of movement
in individual fault blocks has varied through time, and that culminations at one stratigraphic level
may not coincide with those at another (Cross sections B1 and B2). For example, in the three
wells at the north end of Cross section B2, the Mattson thickens southward from 50 to 300
metres, as the Triassic section thins from over 300 metres to zero and the total Cretaceous and
Debolt interval remains approximately 400 metres thick2.
The north to northwest-trending Liard thrust fault brings Palaeozoic strata to the surface in the
adjoining part of the Northwest Territories, but dies out into an anticline in Cretaceous strata in
the northernmost part of the project area north of Maxhamish Lake (Douglas and Norris, 1959;
Taylor and Stott, 1968; Stott, 1982). The b-21-K/94-O-14 well appears to be located on this
2

These thickness changes are not simply the result of variable dips encountered in the wells on the
structure. Strata in the a-78-L/94-O-15 well dip 10 O southwest. The markedly different dips in
different horizons in the a-28-D/94-O-15 well further demonstrate variation in structural
movement with time.
2

feature. Another surface anticline has been mapped in the northwest corner of the project area by
Taylor and Stott (1968; see Map 1).
Table 1 : Gas pools on the Bovie Lake structure
Pool

Wells and Location

Reservoir

Gas in Place x106 m3*

Windflower

d-87-A and d-6-H/94-O-11

Mattson, Fantasque

684 (24 BCF)

b-96-E

b-96-E/94-O-10

Mattson

none assigned

b-44-L

b-44-L/94-O-10

Mattson

58 (2 BCF)

Fantasque

158 (6 BCF)

a-78-L
a-78-L/94-O-10
* Ministry of Energy and Mines (1997)

Prior to the end of 1995, only 60 wells have been drilled in the project area. Since then an
additional 93 wells have been drilled, primarily testing the Lower Cretaceous Chinkeh sandstone.
Apart from the small gas pools on the Bovie Lake structure and the currently developing Chinkeh
sandstone gas play, no commercial hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in the Liard Basin in
British Columbia. However, large gas fields occur in Middle Devonian strata to the southeast near
Fort Nelson (Clarke Lake) and to the northwest in the Cordilleran fold and trust belt in the Liard
Plateau (Beaver River, Pointed Mountain, Kotaneelee and a new discovery northwest of Fort
Liard). In addition, a new Mattson gas discovery has recently been announced in the Northwest
Territories part of the Liard Basin, 10 kilometres north of the project area.
STRATIGRAPHY
The sedimentary fill of the Liard Basin includes Cambrian to Upper Cretaceous strata. This report
addresses the interval from the Uppermost Devonian and Mississippian Exshaw to the Lower
Cretaceous Scatter Formation, which is shown in the accompanying Table of Formations (Table
2).
Uppermost Devonian-Mississippian carbonate-shale succession (Exshaw, Banff, Pekisko,
Shunda and Debolt Formations)
The Uppermost Devonian-Mississippian carbonate-shale succession includes all strata from the
Exshaw to Debolt Formations, and comprises two prograding and basin-filling sequences 400 to
500 metres thick (Cross section P4; English, 1986; Stoakes, 1992; Richards et al., 1994).
Regionally, the Exshaw includes both uppermost Devonian and Mississippian strata (Macqueen
and Sandberg, 1970; Richards and Higgins, 1988), but in this area the Exshaw may be entirely
Devonian in age and the overlying Banff may be partly Devonian as well (Richards, 1989a;
Richards et al., 1994).

The lower prograding sequence overlies older Devonian strata unconformably3 and is formed by
the Exshaw, Banff and Pekisko Formations (Cross section P4). The Exshaw Formation is a
sequence of dark shale and silty limestones with a characteristic high gamma ray signature, and
thickens westward from 15 to over 150 metres across the project area. The overlying Banff
Formation consists of 375 to 525 metres of interbedded calcareous shale and argillaceous
limestones. The lower two thirds of the Banff Formation is arranged into a series of west-dipping
clinoforms, evident on both well log and seismic sections (Richards, 1989b; Richards et al.,
1994). Carbonate buildups, such as Waulsortian mounds, may occur on the dipping limestone
units, both at the tops of clinoforms and on the slopes. Waulsortian mounds in slope and toe of
slope settings are known from equivalent strata elsewhere in the western interior basin of North
America (Cotter, 1965; Precht and Shepard, 1988; Richards, 1989b; Richards et al., 1994). The
Banff Formation is capped by the Pekisko Formation, which consists of 15 to 35 metres of
bioclastic (commonly crinoidal) limestone with some calcareous shale deposited primarily in a
shelf setting. However, the westernmost equivalents of the Pekisko Formation in the project area
are chert-rich limestones deposited in deeper water and assigned to the Prophet Formation by
Richards et al. (1994). Consequently, a westerly primary dip is also evident in Pekisko strata.
During the initial phases of the transgression that terminated deposition of the lower prograding
sequence, Pekisko strata served as a substrate for isolated Waulsortian buildups in other areas in
Western Canada (Davies et al., 1988; Stoakes, 1992). Although none have been observed, similar
occurrences could also occur in this area.
The upper prograding and basin-filling sequence is formed by the Shunda and overlying Debolt 4
Formations in the eastern part of the study area, and the equivalent Prophet Formation to the
west. The Shunda Formation consists of argillaceous limestone and calcareous shale, and the
Debolt consists of bioclastic limestones (commonly crinoidal) with some dolomites, cherts and
argillaceous units. The Debolt Formation includes a lower Elkton-equivalent member, which is
capped by a distinct argillaceous unit, and informally designated lower, middle and upper
members. The middle Debolt member is distinguished from the others by a higher argillaceous
content as seen on gamma ray logs. The Shunda and Debolt overstep and are replaced laterally to
the west by the Prophet Formation, which consists of spiculite, spicule-rich limestone and shale
deposited in a deeper water setting (Richards, 1989a; Richards et al., 1994)5. A series of
clinoforms can be seen in the Shunda and Debolt strata, and those in the Shunda and Elkton3

In the eastern part of the Liard Basin and the adjacent platform, the Exshaw overlies the Upper
Devonian Kotcho Formation unconformably (Cross section P4). To the west, the interval between
the base of the Exshaw and the top of the Middle Devonian carbonate thins from over 1300
metres to 530 metres in the a-67-D/94-0-13 well, where the Exshaw overlies older Upper
Devonian shales that are included in the lower part of the Besa River Formation (Switzer et al.,
1994). Although the upper contact of this interval is unconformable, the westward thinning has
been interpreted to be in part depositional (Pelzer, 1966). Further to the west, the Besa River
Formation also includes shales equivalent to the Exshaw, Banff and Prophet Formations (Pelzer,
1966; Richards, 1989a).
4

In the adjacent Northwest Territories, the strata lithologically equivalent to the Debolt are called
the Flett Formation (Richards, 1989a; Richards et al., 1994)
4

equivalent can be traced across the boundary with the Prophet. Thus, westerly deepening of this
sequence is indicated on a regional scale by the facies change to the Prophet and on a smaller
scale by the clinoforms in the lower part of the succession.
The entire Debolt is preserved in the Liard Basin and along most of the Bovie Lake Structure.
However, on the east side of the structure, the Debolt is unconformably overlain by the Permian
Fantasque and Lower Cretaceous strata, and to the east, upper, middle and lower Debolt strata
subcrop beneath Cretaceous strata. Westward thickening across the Bovie Lake structure is not
evident within Shunda and Debolt strata, contrary to the interpretation shown by Richard et al.
(1994).
Porous dolomites and oil staining occur in several horizons in the Debolt on and east of the Bovie
Lake structure. Dolomites up to 60 metres thick occur locally in the upper Debolt and provide a
potential reservoir in culminations on the Bovie Lake structure. In addition, thinner porous
dolomite intervals in the upper, middle and lower Debolt could provide traps at the subCretaceous unconformities east of the structure. Some gas shows and small gas pools have been
discovered in Debolt unconformity traps east of the project area. In addition, a 12 to 15 metre
thick (gross) porous dolomite interval occurs at the top of the Elkton-equivalent, particularly at
the top of the clinoform, and has produced water in several drill stem tests (e.g. b-6-G/94-O-7,
Cross section P4). Not only does this interval provide a potential reservoir in culminations on the
Bovie Lake structure, it is locally absent at the top of the clinoform and thus also may have the
potential for stratigraphic entrapment in the area east of the structure. In the c-2-H/94-O-11 well
the porous dolomite interval is replaced by an expanded section of the overlying argillaceous
interval, with some chert and sandstone. The anomalous interval is interpreted to represent the fill
of an embayment or channel incised into the top of the clinoform. Such potential stratigraphic
traps in Elkton-equivalent buildups encased in argillaceous carbonate have the potential to be
recognized seismically. To the west in the Liard Basin, porosity is rarely developed in the Shunda
to Debolt sequence and only minor shows occur, probably associated with fractures (e.g. a-77D/94-O-11; Cross section P4).
Mississippian clastic succession (Golata and Mattson Formations)
The Mississippian clastic succession, which comprises the Golata and Mattson Formations,
represents a third major Mississippian basin-filling episode (Cross sections P1, P2 and P3). The
Golata Formation gradationally overlies the Debolt Formation. It consist primarily of black shales,
and is generally 6 to 30 metres thick, although to the west it thickens to over 70 metres (Cross
section P2). It has been interpreted to represent prodelta deposits (Richards, 1989a, b). The
Golata Formation is overlain conformably by the Mattson Formation, and this contact becomes
younger to the west (Richards, 1989a, b; Richards et al., 1994). The Mattson Formation consists
of fine to medium sandstones with siliceous, calcareous and dolomitic cement, subordinate
amounts of siltstone, shale, dolomite and coal, and was deposited primarily in a fluvially
dominated deltaic setting (Braman and Hills, 1977; Richards, 1989a, b, 1990). In the Liard Basin,
the Mattson Formation is unconformably overlain by the Kindle Formation, and thickens
5

The Prophet-Debolt contacts on cross section M4 are adapted from Richards et al. (1994).
5

northward from 125 to over 600 metres (Cross section P1). Both the Golata and Mattson
Formations are truncated eastward across the Bovie Lake structure beneath the subPennsylvanian, sub-Fantasque, sub-Triassic and sub-Cretaceous unconformities (Cross sections
M2, M3 and M4).
Hydrocarbon shows and occurrences in the Mattson Formation are concentrated at the top,
beneath the unconformable upper contact, and near the base, close to the contact with the Golata.
The latter setting is analogous to stratigraphically-trapped hydrocarbons in the equivalent basal
Kiskatinaw sandstone of the Peace River Arch area. On the Bovie Lake structure, porosity is well
developed in the Mattson Formation, which forms the principal reservoir in 3 of the 4 gas pools
found there to date (Table 1; Cross sections B1, B2, M1, M2 and M3). In the Windflower and the
b-96-E pools, the gas occurs in thick sandstones at the top of the Mattson beneath the subPennsylvanian, sub-Fantasque, sub-Triassic and sub-Cretaceous unconformities, and is likely to be
primarily structurally controlled (Cross sections B1 and B2). In the b-44-L pool, gas is also
trapped near the unconformable upper contact, but in thin sandstones interbedded with shales at
the base of the formation, and trapping there may include a stratigraphic component 6 (Cross
section B2). In the Liard Basin, porosity in the Mattson is significantly lower than on the Bovie
Lake structure, although better porosity may be preserved locally in gas accumulations that
formed early. Gas flows and water recoveries have been reported from a few wells. In particular,
gas has been tested from the b-21-K/94-O-14 and the b-55-E/94-O-13 wells, which are located on
or in the vicinity of surface structures in the northern part of the study area 7. Furthermore, the
recently announced Paramount et al. Ft. Liard F-36 Mattson gas discovery, which is located in the
Northwest Territories 10 kilometres north of the project area, is up-plunge on the Liard thrust
fault from the b-21-K well. These data suggest that the principal potential for future Mattson
discoveries is in structural or unconformity traps at the top of the formation, or stratigraphic traps
near its base.

Pennsylvanian-Permian succession (Kindle and Fantasque Formations)

The Pennsylvanian-Permian succession comprises the Kindle and overlying Fantasque Formations
(Cross sections P1, P2 and P3). This is a relatively thin succession consisting of slope to basinal
deposits (Henderson, 1989; Henderson et al., 1994). The ages of the units are not well
constrained and they probably include several unconformities (C.M. Henderson, pers. comm.,
1998).
6

The productive sandstone underlies Triassic Grayling shales and could possibly be assigned to this
formation rather than to the Mattson.
7

Drill stem tests produced 3x103 m3/d from a sandstone near the top of the Mattson in the b-21K/94-O-14 well ; and 1x103 m3/d and 112 declining to 14x103 m3/d well, from sandstones near the
top and base respectively in the in the b-55-E/94-O-13 well.
6

In the eastern part of the Liard Basin and along the axis of the Bovie Lake structure, the Kindle
Formation consists of dark siltstones, which are slightly glauconitic and variably siliceous,
dolomitic and calcareous, with subordinate amounts of sandstone. It commonly has a distinct
upward-decreasing gamma ray signature in this area (Cross sections B2, P2 and P3; see also
Henderson et al., 1994). The thickness of the Kindle in this area varies from 3 to 40 metres, and
the greatest thicknesses appear to be preserved immediately west of the Bovie Lake structure. The
Kindle is locally absent in the southern part of the Liard basin (Cross section P1), indicating that a
period of structural growth may have followed deposition of Kindle strata, and is truncated
eastward across the Bovie Lake structure beneath the sub-Fantasque unconformity (Cross
sections M2, M3, M4).
On the northwest side of the basin, Henderson et al. (1994) have assigned a succession consisting
of 58 metres of phosphatic siltstone overlain by 190 metres of calcareous sandstone to the Kindle
Formation (a-67-D/94-O-13, Cross section P2). Although this interpretation is not directly
supported by faunal evidence at this locality, it is consistent with regional thickness trends (C.M.
Henderson, pers. comm., 1998), and is followed here. The Kindle is over 200 metres thick in the
outcrop areas west of the Liard Basin (Bamber et al., 1990).
Henderson et al. (1994) have assigned the Kindle siltstones of the Liard Basin to the Moscovian
(mid-Pennsylvanian) lower Kindle, equivalent to part of the Taylor Flat Formation of the Peace
River Arch, and the overlying Kindle sandstones of the western Liard Basin to the Asselian to
Lower Artinskian (Lower Permian) middle and upper Kindle. Thus, in addition to having
unconformable upper and lower contacts, the Kindle Formation has one (or more) internal
unconformities. West of the Bovie Lake structure, an interval of calcareous sandstones in the
upper Mattson appears to be conformable with the overlying Kindle siltstones rather than
underlying Mattson. Although they are included with the Mattson on Cross section P3, they may
be better assigned to the Kindle.
The Fantasque Formation consists primarily of dark chert, in part glauconitic, with subordinate
amounts of sandstone and siltstone. The latter lithologies occur locally interbedded with cherts in
the vicinity of the Bovie Lake structure, but are best developed in the upper part of the formation
in the northern part of the Liard Basin (b-21-K/94-O-14, Cross section P2). On logs, the
Fantasque Formation commonly has one or more intervals with a high gamma ray response,
although these are not always present. A high gamma ray bed at the base may correlate with a thin
basal lag of phosphate nodules and chert pebbles described in the literature (Henderson, 1989;
Henderson et al., 1994). In the southern and central parts of the study area, a high gamma ray
interval locally occurs in the middle of the formation, dividing it into three parts. The Fantasque
has been assigned by Henderson (1989) and Henderson et al. (1994) to the Roadian and Wordian
(Lower and Upper Permian).
The Fantasque is 40 to 100 metres thick in the eastern part of the Liard Basin and thickens
northwest to 175 metres (Cross sections P1, P2 and P3). However, it is locally absent beneath the
sub-Triassic unconformity in the south central part of the basin, indicating that a period of
structural growth followed deposition of these strata. The Fantasque thins and is locally absent
beneath the sub-Triassic and sub-Cretaceous unconformities on the axis of the Bovie Lake
structure, and is generally absent to the east (Cross sections M2, M3, and M4).
7

Oil staining is common in the Kindle and Fantasque Formations in the eastern Liard Basin and on
the Bovie Lake structure. Furthermore, the Fantasque forms the reservoir in the a-78-L/94-O-10
gas pool (Table 1; Cross sections B2 and M2) and part of the reservoir in the Windflower pool (d87-A/94-O-11, Table 1 and Cross sections B1, P3 and M3), and produced 6x10 3 m3/d on a drill
stem test in the b-85-H/94-O-11 well on the flank of the Bovie Lake structure (Cross sections B1,
P2 and M2). These formations are potential reservoirs in structural traps, particularly on the
Bovie Lake structure, where they may form continuous reservoirs with the underlying Mattson.
These formations are also potential targets for stratigraphic traps in the Liard Basin. Mappable
prospects could be developed in unconformity traps in the Fantasque beneath Triassic strata.
Triassic clastic succession (Grayling and Toad Formations)
Triassic strata thin northeastward across the Liard Basin from over 550 metres to 100 metres
(Cross sections M1, M2, M3 and M4). The Triassic succession consists of a lower shale and an
upper siltstone- and sandstone-dominated unit, which can be correlated with the Grayling and
Toad Formations, respectively. Although these formations are usually combined in other parts of
northeastern British Columbia (e.g. Gibson, 1990), they can be differentiated in the Liard Basin,
which is located immediately east of the type area of these formations in the fold and thrust belt.
The Grayling and Toad are truncated beneath the sub-Cretaceous unconformity, so that the Toad
Formation is preserved generally in the western parts of the Liard Basin (Map 1; Cross sections
M1, M2 and M3). These strata thin abruptly across the Bovie Lake structure, although locally
thick sections are preserved, and they are generally not present to the east (Map 1; Cross sections
B1, B2, M2, M3 and M4).
The Grayling Formation in this area consists of light grey, green, red and brown shales, that are
variably calcareous and dolomitic, with subordinate amounts of siltstone and sandstone. The
coarser lithologies occur most commonly where the formation is preserved on the Bovie Lake
structure (Cross section B2). There, the Grayling can be differentiated from the dark shales of the
Lower Cretaceous Garbutt Formation on the basis of colour. In the Grayling, dark shales typical
of the type area occur only in the southwesternmost wells of the Liard Basin. Where it is
conformably overlain by the Toad Formation, the Grayling is 200 to 250 metres thick, but west of
the Liard Basin, it thickens to over 400 metres in the type area (Pelletier, 1960, 1961).
The overlying Toad Formation consists of interbedded grey to light grey calcareous siltstone and
sandstone and light to dark grey shales. On wireline logs, the Toad generally has a thinner-bedded
appearance and lower porosity than the unconformably overlying Lower Cretaceous Chinkeh
Formation, which generally consists of a thin, widespread, sheet-like sandstone body with little
erosional relief at its base (Cross sections M1, M2, M3 and M4). Based on these criteria, 27
metres of strata in the a-77-D/94-O-11 well assigned to the Chinkeh by Leckie et al. (1991),
Hayes et al. (1994) and Leckie and Potocki (1998) are reassigned here to the Toad (Cross
sections M1 and M3). Toad strata have a maximum thickness of nearly 350 metres in the study
area, and thicken to 550 metres in the type area to the west (Kindle, 1944, 1946). These strata
have not been correlated with the Liard Formation, which is truncated beneath Cretaceous strata
in the outcrop belt west of the Liard Basin (Pelletier, 1960) and thus appears to be younger than
8

Triassic strata of the Liard Basin.

Some oil staining has been reported in Toad and Grayling sandstones on the Bovie Lake structure,
and sandstones in these horizons may be potential hydrocarbon objectives there. Furthermore, the
productive sandstone in the b-44-L/94-O-10 pool, which is overlain by Grayling grey and red
shales, may be basal Triassic rather than the Mattson, as shown on Cross section B2. In the Liard
Basin, porosity is generally low in the Toad sandstones, but porosities up to 12 to 14% occur
locally (e.g. a-91-A/94-O-12 well, in a zone equivalent to a sandstone at 6000' in the a-77-D/94O-11 well, Cross sections M1 and M3). Furthermore, the Toad Formation is undrilled throughout
a vast area in the Liard Basin. Consequently, the Toad sandstones have hydrocarbon potential in
stratigraphic traps both within and at the eroded top of the formation in the western Liard Basin
(Map 1).
Lower Cretaceous succession (Chinkeh, Garbutt and Scatter Formations)
The Lower Cretaceous strata considered in this report include the Chinkeh, Garbutt and Scatter
Formations of the Fort St. John Group. The Chinkeh and the lower part of the Garbutt are
restricted to the area west of the Bovie Lake structure, which appears to have been active during
deposition of these units (Cross sections M2, M3 and M4).
In the Liard Basin, the Chinkeh Formation is up to 40 metres thick and consists of a lower
sandstone unit, up to 8 metres thick, and an overlying glauconitic siltstone 8 (Cross sections M1,
M2, M3 and M4). The Chinkeh sandstone forms a widespread sheet-like sandstone body up to 20
kilometres wide and 100 kilometres long immediately west of the Bovie Lake structure. Within
this sandstone sheet, thicknesses vary little, and erosional relief is not evident at the
unconformable lower contact. The sandstone is fine grained, glauconitic in part, includes
horizontally laminated, high angle cross-bedded and bioturbated intervals and appears to have
been deposited in a marine or marginal marine environment. However, non-marine environments
may be represented elsewhere: in the a-34-F/94-O-4 well in the southern part of the Liard Basin,
Chinkeh strata may occur in an erosional low incised into Triassic strata (Map 1). To the north of
the Liard Basin, non-marine strata occur in the lower part of the Chinkeh in outcrop in the Liard
Plateau (Leckie et al.,1991); and in the subsurface of the Great Slave Plain, the Chinkeh consists
of fluvial sandstones filling an erosional low incised into Palaeozoic strata (Dixon, 1997). The
Chinkeh siltstone can be recognized beyond the limits of the Chinkeh sandstone. Chinkeh strata
generally overlie Grayling or Toad strata, but in the northernmost part of the study area, in the d87-I/94-O-14 well, they overlie the Fantasque.
The Chinkeh sandstone sheet west of the Bovie Lake fault is gas-bearing, and is the focus of an
active gas play. Pay thicknesses are generally between 2 and 3 metres. Gas has also been
discovered in a fluvial Chinkeh reservoir in the Great Slave Plain (Leckie et al., 1991; Dixon,
1997).
8

The Chinkeh siltstone is included in the lower part of the Garbutt Formation by Leckie et al.
(1991), Hayes et al.
9

The Garbutt Formation consists of black sideritic shale, and some thin sandstones occur locally in
the westernmost wells. In the Liard Basin, the Garbutt thins northeastwards from approximately
270 metres to less than 100 metres (Cross sections M1, M2, M3 and M4; Leckie and Potocki,
1998). Furthermore, the Garbutt thins across the Bovie Lake structure, due to both differential
subsidence and non-deposition of lower Garbutt strata on and east of the structure. A distinctive
radioactive marker at the top of the lower Garbutt in the Liard Basin onlaps pre-Cretaceous strata
on the structure, and strata beneath this marker are thin to the east (Cross sections B1, B2, M2,
M3 and M4). The thinning of the Garbutt across the Bovie Lake structure is greatest across the
southern part of the structure, where the Garbutt is reduced to a thin remnant beneath the Scatter
Formation (Cross sections B1, M3 and M4). The Garbutt shales are gradationally and in part
diachronously overlain by the Scatter Formation (Cross sections B1, B2, M1, M2, M3, M4 and
P4).
The Scatter Formation consists of interbedded very fine to fine grained glauconitic sandstone and
shale, commonly organized into coarsening upward cycles 5 to 20 metres thick and deposited in a
shallow marine shelf setting (Leckie and Potocki, 1998). Regionally, the sandstone content
increases to the west, indicating that these sediments were sourced from that direction. The
Scatter Formation thins northeastward across the Liard Basin from over 300 to 120 metres (Cross
sections M1, M2 and M4). Like the Garbutt, the Scatter thins across the Bovie Lake structure
and is approximately 60 metres thick to the east (Cross sections M2, M3, M4 and P4).
The Scatter sandstones contain thin shale interbeds and are matrix-rich, giving them a high gamma
ray signature. They are commonly oil-stained and have frequently been drill stem tested, although
recoveries have generally been poor due to the high clay content. However, sandstones with a
cleaner appearance on logs are present in the southernmost part of the basin (Cross section M1),
where the greatest potential for commercial hydrocarbon production in these strata likely occurs.
The Scatter Formation is overlain by dark marine shales of the Lepine Formation and its
equivalents in the upper part of the Fort St. John Group (Taylor and Stott, 1968; Stott, 1982).

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The Liard Basin is a large unexplored area situated immediately east of the Cordilleran fold and
thrust belt. The basin has a thick sedimentary section, in which potential hydrocarbon objectives
are present in the Mississippian Banff, Debolt and Mattson Formations, the Permo-Pennsylvanian
Kindle and Fantasque Formations, the Triassic Toad Formation, and the Cretaceous Chinkeh and
Scatter Formations. In addition, the Debolt, Mattson, Kindle, Fantasque and possibly the Triassic
Grayling and Toad Formations are potential objectives in structural closures on the Bovie Lake
structure on the margin of the basin, and the Banff and Debolt are potential objectives in
stratigraphic traps on the platform to the east.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
10

In addition to the references cited, this report has drawn on stratigraphic data and interpretations
contained in sample descriptions, core photographs and well histories in the files of the Ministry
of Energy and Mines in Victoria, including logs prepared by Canadian Stratigraphic Service Ltd.
The author also appreciates the assistance of Canadian Discovery Digest Ltd. for providing access
to their recent proprietary report on the Liard Basin titled "Maxhamish, B.C., A New Canadian
Frontier". The cross sections and maps have been ably drafted by J. Armitage, and this report has
been critically reviewed by D. Richardson and M. Hayes, whose comments are greatly
appreciated. In addition, the author appreciates the assistance of S. Chicorelli.
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