NWT Hydrocarbon Potential Map Preview

Oil and Gas GIS Data

Current Areas for Expressions of Interest

Those wishing to express interest for nominating parcels for oil and gas exploration to the government of the Northwest Territories should refer to the Oil and Gas Rights Management section of our website as well as the Oil and Gas Rights Issuance, Call for Nominations and Call for Bids pages.

The current areas for an expression of interest within the GNWT are reflected within the maps featured on this page.  The maps illustrate areas which are now available for an expression of interest in areas of high to very high hydrocarbon potential as defined in the Northwest Territories Geoscience Office (NTGO) NWT Open File 2005-004 report, which can be found on the NTGS publications search tool.

The maps illustrate areas where an expression of interest would be accepted as these areas have a likelihood of high to very high hydrocarbon potential as defined by (L.P. Gal 2005) and are free from any likely constraints which would prohibit oil and gas exploration.  Constraints include: protected areas, land use zoning not permitting oil and gas exploration or development, land withdrawals, etc.

Downloadable Maps 

Areas Available for Expressions of Interest for Oil and Gas Exploration within the Northwest Territories 2021

The map illustrates areas where expressions of interest are being sought focused on areas where a previously published assessment of hydrocarbon potential has been made. This map illustrates the full extent of the main land body of the Northwest Territories where hydrocarbon potential has been assessed and mapped; the map only provides referencing for oil and gas grids and sections without displaying the unit boundaries. Only the grids are labeled to prevent too much overlapping content with very small geographic extent at this scale cluttering up the map. There are two styles of map for the map titled “Areas Available for Expressions of Interest for Oil and Gas Exploration within the Northwest Territories 2021” is 30.25 in x 60.25 in (76.835 cm x 153.035 cm).

  • A map which is for high quality printing as a TIF raster image saved into a standard Adobe Acrobat PDF document (59.5 MB ~ 8.3 minutes to download at 1Mb/s).  These documents are designed for large format printing. When printing to a large format plotter, turn off the colour management of the plotter, and choose to let the application handle colour management / correction.
  • The other map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (77.2 MB ~ 10.8 minutes at 1Mb/s).  You can measure distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.

Available Areas for Expression of Interest in the Liard Basin 2021

The map illustrates in detail providing oil and gas grid, section and unit boundaries and labels for those boundaries which allow for a proponent to reference the areas defining a parcel or parcels of land they which to put up for an expression of interest. The Liard Basin Expression of Interest map has an oil and gas reference figure embedded within it which will help those wishing to express interest in land parcels for the purposes of oil and gas exploration and development, provide the proper reference notation for a legal land description.

For the full sized figure of the oil and gas grid reference system which can be plotted on a large format plotter refer to the following link: Oil and Gas Grid Reference System.

The Mackenzie Valley map is 42 inches x 42 inches (106.68 cm x 106.68cm) in size, saved at 300dpi from ArcGIS 10.4.1.  There are three styles of map provided:

  • The first map which is for high quality printing as a TIF raster image saved into a standard Adobe Acrobat PDF document (40.6 MB ~ 5.7 minutes to download at 1Mb/s).  These documents are designed for large format printing. When printing to a large format plotter, turn off the colour management of the plotter, and choose to let the application handle colour management / correction.
  • The second map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (47.9 MB ~ 6.7 minutes at 1Mb/s).  You can measure distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.
  • The third map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (115 MB ~ 16.1 minutes at 1Mb/s).  Beyond just measuring distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document, you can also turn on and off all layers in the map.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.

This map contains a representative for the oil and gas grid referencing system.  It is a redrafting of the original figure reference, but redone as a vector graphic so it can be scaled to any size, however it is fit within the available space within the map so that end users can refer to this figure to determine how the oil and gas grid referencing system applies to the legal land description that proponents that wish to express interest for parcels of land need to provide to the government of the Northwest Territories.

Available Areas for Expression of Interest in the Mackenzie Delta 2021

The map illustrates in detail providing oil and gas grid, section and unit boundaries and labels for those boundaries which allow for a proponent to reference the areas defining a parcel or parcels of land they which to put up for an expression of interest. The Mackenzie Delta Expression of Interest map has an oil and gas reference figure embedded within it which will help those wishing to express interest in land parcels for the purposes of oil and gas exploration and development, provide the proper reference notation for a legal land description.

For the full sized figure of the oil and gas grid reference system which can be plotted on a large format plotter refer to the following link: Oil and Gas Grid Reference System.

The Mackenzie Valley map is 42 inches x 42 inches (106.68 cm x 106.68cm) in size, saved at 300dpi from ArcGIS 10.4.1.  There are two styles of map provided:

  • The first map which is for high quality printing as a TIF raster image saved into a standard Adobe Acrobat PDF document (34.8 MB ~ 4.9 minutes to download at 1Mb/s).  These documents are designed for large format printing. When printing to a large format plotter, turn off the colour management of the plotter, and choose to let the application handle colour management / correction.
  • The second map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (43.5 MB ~ 6.1 minutes at 1Mb/s).  You can measure distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.

This map contains a representative for the oil and gas grid referencing system.  It is a redrafting of the original figure reference, but redone as a vector graphic so it can be scaled to any size, however it is fit within the available space within the map so that end users can refer to this figure to determine how the oil and gas grid referencing system applies to the legal land description that proponents that wish to express interest for parcels of land need to provide to the government of the Northwest Territories.

Available Areas for Expression of Interest in Cameron Hills 2021

The map illustrates in detail providing oil and gas grid, section and unit boundaries and labels for those boundaries which allow for a proponent to reference the areas defining a parcel or parcels of land they which to put up for an expression of interest. The Cameron Hills Expression of Interest map has an oil and gas reference figure embedded within it which will help those wishing to express interest in land parcels for the purposes of oil and gas exploration and development, provide the proper reference notation for a legal land description.

For the full sized figure of the oil and gas grid reference system which can be plotted on a large format plotter refer to the following link: Oil and Gas Grid Reference System.

The Mackenzie Valley map is 42 inches x 42 inches (106.68 cm x 106.68cm) in size, saved at 300dpi from ArcGIS 10.4.1.  There are three styles of map provided:

  • The first map which is for high quality printing as a TIF raster image saved into a standard Adobe Acrobat PDF document (43.4 MB ~ 6.1 minutes to download at 1Mb/s).  These documents are designed for large format printing. When printing to a large format plotter, turn off the colour management of the plotter, and choose to let the application handle colour management / correction.
  • The second map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (43.2 MB ~ 6.0 minutes at 1Mb/s).  You can measure distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.
  • The third map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (115 MB ~ 16.1 minutes at 1Mb/s).  Beyond just measuring distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document, you can also turn on and off all layers in the map.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.

This map contains a representative for the oil and gas grid referencing system.  It is a redrafting of the original figure reference, but redone as a vector graphic so it can be scaled to any size, however it is fit within the available space within the map so that end users can refer to this figure to determine how the oil and gas grid referencing system applies to the legal land description that proponents that wish to express interest for parcels of land need to provide to the government of the Northwest Territories.

Available Areas for Expression of Interest in the Central Mackenzie Valley 2021

The map illustrates in detail providing oil and gas grid, section and unit boundaries and labels for those boundaries which allow for a proponent to reference the areas defining a parcel or parcels of land they which to put up for an expression of interest. The Central Mackenzie Valley Expression of Interest map has an oil and gas reference figure embedded within it which will help those wishing to express interest in land parcels for the purposes of oil and gas exploration and development, provide the proper reference notation for a legal land description.

For the full sized figure of the oil and gas grid reference system which can be plotted on a large format plotter refer to the following link: Oil and Gas Grid Reference System.

The Mackenzie Valley map is 42 inches x 42 inches (106.68 cm x 106.68cm) in size, saved at 300dpi from ArcGIS 10.4.1.  There are three styles of map provided:

  • A map which is for high quality printing as a TIF raster image saved into a standard Adobe Acrobat PDF document (54.7 MB ~ 7.6 minutes to download at 1Mb/s).  These documents are designed for large format printing. When printing to a large format plotter, turn off the colour management of the plotter, and choose to let the application handle colour management / correction.
  • The other map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (69.4 MB ~ 9.7 minutes at 1Mb/s).  You can measure distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.
  • The third map is a GeoPDF, which is a geospatially enabled PDF document (177 MB ~ 24.7 minutes at 1Mb/s).  Beyond just measuring distances, areas, when using Adobe Acrobat Professional, and with all versions of Adobe Acrobat you can see the geographic location of your mouse cursor as you move across any map window within the map document, you can also turn on and off all layers in the map.  To turn on the ability to see the geographic location and access other geospatial analysis tools you need to turn on that tool within Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  To turn on the Analysis Tool in Acrobat Reader, select the “Edit” menu item then go down to “Analysis”.  The “Geospatial Location Tool”, the “Object Data Tool” and Measuring Tool are available to the end user. Screen grabs of the tools mentioned above are illustrated in Figures 1-7.

This map contains a representative for the oil and gas grid referencing system.  It is a redrafting of the original figure reference, but redone as a vector graphic so it can be scaled to any size, however it is fit within the available space within the map so that end users can refer to this figure to determine how the oil and gas grid referencing system applies to the legal land description that proponents that wish to express interest for parcels of land need to provide to the government of the Northwest Territories.

Instructions For Geospatial Tools 

Figure 1: Turning on the Analyze Tool (Acrobat Professional)

Figure  SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2: Turning on the Analysis Tool (Acrobat Reader)

Figure 3: Using the Geospatial Location Tool (Acrobat Professional)

Figure 4: Map Display of Geospatial Location Tool (Acrobat Professional)

Figure 5: Measuring Tool with Area Measuring Selected (Acrobat Professional)

Figure 6: Object Data Tool used to interrogate a land parcel.

Figure 7: Layer Tool showing hierarchical layer structure of GeoPDF

Printing Notes

For best print reproduction on an HP plotter while printing from Adobe Acrobat:

  • If you have access to a plotter that is 44 inches in width or larger, you can create a custom page setup of 44 inches x 42 inches to allow for accurate printing of the map as designed.
  • Use the newest postscript drivers and select "properties" then "colour" then "application managed colours", let the software perform colour correction.
  • If using the HPGL2 drivers disable the automatic colour correction as well.
  • Do not use the HPGL2 printer drivers to print the large 14MB size PDF, this will cause errors in the final output, only print the TIF version PDF using the HPGL2 drivers.

The maps are available for download below. 

Documents: