# Oil and Gas Grid Reference System

The following figure illustrates how oil and gas land parcels are divided up in the Northwest Territories.  Land parcels are divided up in three consecutively smaller blocks: grids, sections and units.

## NWT Oil and Gas Grid Reproduction Thumbnail

Grids vary in size in miles or kilometres on the ground as one moves north and south and there are a variable number of grids in each 1° of latitude by 1° of longitude in slice of the earth (see reference figure).  There are 24 grids per 1° of latitude by 1° of longitude between 60° north latitude and 70° north latitude. Between 70° north latitude and 85° north latitude there are 12 grids per 1° of latitude by 1° of longitude.

Between 60° and 68° north latitude there are 80 sections per grid area, between 68° and 70° north latitude there are 60 sections per grid area, between 70° and 75° north latitude there are 100 sections per grid area, between 75° and 78° north latitude there are 80 sections per grid area, between 75° and 85° north latitude there are 60 sections per grid area (see reference figure).

Sections contain 16 units Labeled from “A” to “P”, however the actual area on the ground varies in size at various latitudes (see reference figure).

Oil and gas grids, sections and unit boundaries in a GIS format (Esri SHP files) that can be found and downloaded from an FTP site link here