The Pembina oil field is one of the largest and most prolific conventional

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presen ...

s in the province of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The mature field is centered on

Drayton Valley Drayton Valley is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), approximately southwest of Edmonton. It is surrounded by Brazeau County, known for its vast oil fields. The town is located between the North Sas ...

and is named for the

Pembina River Pembina River may refer to: * Pembina River (Alberta), a river in central Alberta, Canada *Pembina River (Manitoba – North Dakota) The Pembina River is a tributary of the Red River of the North, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Nation ...

, which crosses the region from southwest to northeast. It taps

reservoirs A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

in the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

formations of the

Western Canada Sedimentary Basin The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimen ...

for oil and gas production. The main hydrocarbon-bearing unit is the

Cardium Formation The Cardium Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the fossilized heart-shaped cockle shells in the family Cardiidae (from Greek ''kardiā'', "heart") present. It ...

. Production also comes from the

Viking Formation The Viking Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the town of Viking, Alberta, and was first described in the Viking-Kinsella oil field by Dowling in 1919. Lithol ...

and sandstone beds of the

Fernie Formation The Fernie Formation is a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic unit of Jurassic Geochronology, age. It is present in the western part of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in western Alberta and northeastern British Col ...

such as the Rock Creek Member.

History

The first oil was discovered by

Mobil Oil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

in February 1953, and it started a boom that saw the investment of $900 million in the area.

Gallery

Image:Alberta oil field.JPG, Aerial view of

oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas ma ...

locations in Pembina oil field Image:draytonvalley.jpg, Pumpjack near

References

Brazeau County Oil fields of Alberta ExxonMobil oil and gas fields {{oilfield-stub