Production and/or Activity articles summarize production or activity in a play or area. The article may focus on one prod zone, one operator or well. There is often a brief summary of the geology and some pertinent facts about production, completions and costs, if available.
Production and/or Activity articles are in the 500 word range and include maps, cross-sections, log suites, graphs, and tables.
Land Sales Alerts target upcoming “significant” land sales—significant could mean large offerings, interesting rights or developing plays. The parcels and rights on offer are discussed in terms of regional production, regional geology and speculating on what the target play(s) may be.
Land Sale Alerts are in the 500 word range and include maps, stratigraphic column of rights, graphs, tables and other figures as necessary to define the speculated target.
Exploration Reviews are generally geology-based articles that focus on a formation, collection of formations, the potential in an area, or a play concept. There is often a regional geology summary and a more in-depth analysis of several areas. If completions are relevant to the topic, a completions analysis may be included. Topics from the past have included Montney North, Montney Heritage, Duvernay geomechanics, Spirit River, Cardium, Bakken, Shaunavon, etc. Articles may also focus on a particular play concept such as shale gas or the oil sands at Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River.
Exploration Reviews are usually in the 3,000–5,000 word range and have multiple illustrations (maps, graphs, cross-sections, schematics) and tables.
Resource Play Overviews (RPO) take a detailed look at two or more areas with a common production zone (i. e. the Charlie Lake at Worsley, Mulligan–Earring, Cecil and Valhalla). The areas are compared and contrasted with respect to geology, completions, production and EURs.
RPOs are in the 3,000 word range and have multiple illustrations (maps, graphs, cross-sections, schematics) and tables.
In this group of articles, EURs are often compared amongst areas within a play. The analysis attempts to discover what is driving EUR differences—completions innovations, geology, operator completion designs, etc.
EUR articles are in the 500 word range and include maps, graphs, tables and other figures such as infographics.
Significant Wells are chosen for different reasons. Often it is because of outstanding production results, but wells are also significant for pushing a play (or production) into new territory or for technological innovations. CDL’s Significant Wells cover the entire Western Canada Sedimentary Basin and the stratigraphic column from Cretaceous to Cambrian.
Significant Wells are usually in the 500-1,000 word range and have several illustrations (maps, graphs and a log suite or petrophysical analysis).
Each quarter, a Quarterly Production Analysis, Quarterly Completions Analysis, and Quarterly Land Sale Analysis is published—cycling through each topic every three months. These articles are graphics-rich and text-light!
The Quarterly Production Analysis summarizes production in a previous quarter by production zone/formation, CDL Play and operator. The analysis includes graphs, maps and tables.
The Quarterly Completions Analysis summarizes completions in the top 20 (or so) plays in a previous quarter by various completions parameters. Eight plays are further analyzed over two years to see trends. The analysis includes graphs and tables.
The Quarterly Land Sale Analysis summarizes land sale results in the previous quarter by bonus and price/ha. The analysis includes maps and tables.
The Monthly Spud Analysis by Zone and Operator analyzes the spuds in the WCSB from the previous month. The analysis includes maps, graphs and highlights notable activity.
Technology Updates focus on educating readers about evolving technologies or plays where technology plays an important role. Past articles include the technologies involved in producing oil sands, proppants, completions fluids and completions isolation technologies.
Technology Updates are usually in the 1,000–3,000 word range and have several illustrations (maps, graphs, schematics) and tables.
Pool Case Studies focus on old pools that are abandoned or largely inactive, but could have economic potential using modern horizontal drilling and fraccing technologies.
Pool Case Studies are usually in the 500 word range and have several illustrations (maps, graphs, cross-sections) and tables.
Other article topics include (amongst others) macro-economics with respect to oil prices and oil supply, and production metrics.
Other articles are in the 500 word range and include graphs, tables, maps or any other figures necessary to explain the topic.
About Canadian Discovery
About Canadian Discovery

CDL is an independent, global energy information services company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. For 30 years, we’ve continuously evolved to deliver oil and gas data, analytics and expertise via online applications and supporting consultancy services. Geoscientists, engineers, investors and executives at hundreds of organizations worldwide currently leverage CDL’s insights to maximize results. Learn more about Canadian Discovery and what we offer.