Abandoned Well Locating
Abandoned wells have been making headlines in Western Canada, especially in Alberta. Recently, the Edmonton Journal reported “Inventory of abandoned oil and gas wells doubles in 2016” (Link to Edmonton Journal Article).
As a comparative study, Maverick technicians selected a known well on an agricultural property in Northern Alberta. Wellheads or “Christmas Trees” were located visibly elsewhere on the property. However, there were no surface indications of the selected abandoned well, and a hand-held consumer GPS was used to provide an approximate starting point for data collection grids. Ground-penetrating Radar (GPR), Electromagnetic Conductivity Profiling, and Magnetic Gradiometry were all used to compare their relative effectiveness for locating abandoned wells.
An additional purpose for this study was to gauge the time and resources required to deploy all three technologies in a single day. This information can be used to determine budgetary pricing for Maverick’s clients as well as streamline mobilization, data gathering, and reporting.
You can select the image or link below to read the full study in PDF.