The energy industry is increasingly aware of the resource value of Canada's North and this renewal of interest will eventually embrace all northern sedimentary basins.
There is much interest in the Beaufort Sea-Mackenzie Delta, where just over 250 wells have been drilled, yet large discoveries have been made and many companies are currently exploring. The Eagle Plain Basin of the Yukon Territory is also an area with potential, where three gas and one oil discoveries have been made. The area is currently under scrutiny by some companies.
Other areas worth considering include Colville Hills, Peel Plain and Peel Plateau, Horton and Anderson Plains of the NWT and smaller basins of the Yukon: Bonet Plume, Kandik Basin, Blow Trough, and Old Crow Basin.
The other area of interest for energy resources is the Arctic Archipelago. The leading edge of the Arctic Fold Belt offers a multitude of anticlinal traps and triangle zones over an area that extends for more than 1000 kms. The Sverdrup Basin offers the best possibilities, where only 75 true widlcats were drilled between 1969 and 1986, yet 19 oil and gas fields were found, including the 5 TCF Drake Point gas discovery on Melville Island. Other areas of interest in the Archipelago include the Boothia Fold Belt, Arctic Platform and Banks Basin. In addition, the Archipelago is bordered by two broad continental margins comparable in length, width and potential to the hydrocarbon-rich Norwegian margin. These margins have yet to be explored, but hold enormous promises.