A Saskatchewan research geologist is breaking ground on potential untapped oil locations in the west central region. Dan Kohlruss, petroleum research geologist with the Saskatchewan Geological Survey, has discovered that collapsed caves are home to the highly sought after, liquid gold.

Kohlruss initially gave birth to the idea 10 years ago and began research on the project last summer. His research shows that upwards of 150 million years ago, in locations where there was limestone that would have been exposed to rain, the mild acidity of the rain would dissolve the limestone along cracks in the rock, which over time can result in the formation of caves.

From the natural occurrences that happen there-after, the dissolved limestone results in what is referred to as karst, which, in this case, can be indicators of where possible oil has been trapped in the caves that have now since collapsed and sit approximately 800 metres below the surface.

“If the prices of oil begin to rise, these could be viable sites for oil companies to explore as another option for extracting.” said Kohlruss.

He added that the oil from these deposits would likely not require fracking as the connectivity and the composition of the formations is porous and permeable enough allowing the oil to flow more freely than areas with poor connectivity. The oil in the collapsed caves would also be heavy oil which would then require a more extensive process during production.

In the west central region, namely around the Kindersley, Marengo and Flaxcombe area, Kohlruss indicates that there is a cave system that is up to and perhaps longer than 30 kilometres.
Although this out-of-the-box thinking sounds exciting, Kohlruss expressed that there isn’t oil in all of the aforementioned cave system, but more importantly acts as an example or model to teach others what to look for in similar areas where there could be additional oil trapped.

Kohlruss shared his findings with companies in both Salt Lake City and Calgary in May of this year, “my role is to explain the research and what to look for, what the companies do with it after that is up to them,” said Kohlruss. “If our research can benefit the province and the economy, we are certainly willing to help,” said Kohlruss.

He has already written and published one paper on the project and will be preparing to wrap up the research on the project early in the new year after releasing the second and final paper around mid-January.