Alberta's natural gas liquids are the feedstock for the largest petrochemical build-out in Canadian history.
Ethane (246 kbbl/d) and propane (273 kbbl/d) extracted from liquids-rich Montney, Duvernay and Deep Basin gas feed the Joffre and Fort Saskatchewan crackers and the Heartland propane dehydrogenation complex. Dow's Path2Zero cracker (first phase late 2029) needs about 120 kbbl/d of new ethane, which is why deep-cut capacity and ethane recovery are the growth story.
Straddle plants at Empress, Cochrane, Wolf NGL North
Live Atlas valuation (reference scenario)
1 subsurface asset priced by the Atlas engine: economic value $74B. Move the Scenario Laboratory sliders on the map to reprice.
Montney (Alberta side)390K Bcf in place · recoverable $81B · economic $74B (91% clears break-even)
GEOLOGY: WHAT MAKES A DEPOSIT MORE LIKELY
Ethane and propane are co-produced from wet gas and recovered at deep-cut plants; richness follows thermal maturity and reservoir pressure.
Host formations
Montney · Duvernay · Spirit River
Depth range
2K–4K m
Favourable conditions
Raw gas with 5–10 % ethane
Access to deep-cut extraction and ethane pipelines (AEGS)
Condensate windows that fund the drilling
Prospectivity envelopes on the map (0)
No envelope drawn yet — this commodity is screened through datasets rather than a regional polygon.
DATASETS THAT TEST THE TARGET
Stack these layers on the integrated map
Discriminating datasets first, then every catalogued public dataset tagged to this commodity. Verified endpoints draw directly; link-only entries open the publisher page.
3D Provincial Geological Framework: Precambrian subcrop zonesAlberta Geological Survey · Structure, depth & isopach · drawable · verifiedEntry point to the provincial 3D framework: which Paleozoic zone sits on basement controls helium traps, brine aquifers and storage seals.Source ↗
Active producing wells (Alberta Energy Geoview)Alberta Energy and Minerals · Wells · link only · verifiedWhere hydrocarbons are flowing today: live reservoir pressure, produced-water (brine) access, helium-bearing gas streams and infrastructure for re-entry.Source ↗
Petroleum & natural gas agreementsAlberta Energy and Minerals · Mineral tenure · drawable · verifiedWho holds the hydrocarbon (and helium) rights; open Crown land shows where a posting is possible.Source ↗