Husky exploring in Central Saskatchewan

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“So there were a few holes punched there, but obviously they didn’t come to any fruition and industry has pretty well lost interest in that area for some time,” said Roy Schneider spokesman for Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Energy and Resources.

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It could mean that something was overlooked, said Brain Pratt, a professor of geology at the University of Saskatchewan.

“Or they’ve got some idea that nobody else has thought of, not for a long time.”

While that early drilling didn’t turn anything up, a company wouldn’t be spending the money if they didn’t think there was something worth look at, Pratt said.

“When an oil company is drilling a well, these are expensive operations so they’ve really done a lot of their homework,” he said.

“We all know that there is way more oil and gas in Saskatchewan than has been discovered.”

By Pratt’s estimates on current discoveries, only about 10 per cent of the oil potential in Saskatchewan has been found.

According to Government of Saskatchewan diagrams, the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, that provides the oil and gas wealth to Alberta, also runs through Saskatchewan.

There are similar rock foundations to Alberta through this area of the province, however Pratt said he believe these are too close to the surface to be of any use to a company. He says maybe there is something underneath that top rock layer, but there is not many researchers working on it.

“(There is) unbelievable potential here but it’s hard to find,” he said.

“One of the problems is companies need to figure out or imagine, what are the key features that they need to look for so they can focus their exploration strategies.”

Technology changes since the 60s will also help with this focus, he said.

Outside of letting the public know they are compliant with all of the regulatory mineral rights and regulations, Husky is staying pretty tight lipped.

Details and results are considered proprietary, said White.

Companies spend a lot of money to investigate their theories, Pratt said.

“It’s a very competitive industry they don’t want anybody swooping in there and buying up neighbouring land.”

ahill@panow.com