Junior explorer Triangle Petroleum Corp., which has pinned its hopes on the natural gas potential in Nova Scotia, reported last week that a log analysis of two wells in the Windsor Basin yielded an estimated 89-109 Bcf of original gas in place (OGIP) per section from the Horton Bluff formation.

According to Triangle, the Kennetcook (KC) No. 1 and 2 wells in the basin were drilled specifically to provide technical information to fully assess the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian shale potential within the Horton Bluff formation. The wells “were selectively completed and fracture-stimulated in organic rich shale zones.” Estimated OGIP for only the completed zones is 42 Bcf per section for KC #1 and 76 Bcf per section for KC #2.

“Our management team is confident that we have a significant unconventional resource play in Nova Scotia,” said Clarence Campbell, vice president, Exploration. “This assessment is based on the observation of the physical released gas shows from the core samples to the detailed lab measurements and interpretations provided by the shale gas consultants we have engaged.”

Canaccord Adams energy analyst Irene Haas said last year that the gas shale plays in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia “could be ahead of the pack” in terms of new shale field potential in North America (see NGI, Oct. 8, 2007). She wrote then that Triangle was the first mover in the Scotian shale play, which had “firsthand experience with the Barnett Shale and the Fayetteville Shale…” and its wells to date “hint” at a potentially gas-prone shale in the Kennetcook Basin. She also told NGI that she thought the “next big shale” discovery would be in the Canadian Maritimes (see NGI, Jan. 7).

Triangle’s Canadian shale gas projects cover 584,000 gross acres in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It also has about 20,000 gross acres in the Fayetteville Shale play in Arkansas.

Triangle reported that extensive coring was done at the two Kennetcook wells: 1,254 feet of core from the No. 1 well and 392 feet of core from No. 2, and more than 140 samples were submitted to “multiple labs” for analyses.

“The Kennetcook wells have been continuously recovering frac fluids since their initial stimulations, with the exception of a temporary shut-in during the Christmas break,” Triangle stated. “The wells continue to flow frac fluids to the surface.” Following a “slight delay” because of an inability to obtain a rig, Triangle said it recently installed downhole pumps on both wells to increase frac fluid recovery rates.

Additionally, Triangle said it has completed 25-square-mile 3-D and 30-mile 2-D seismic programs. The seismic data is expected to help Triangle assess the total natural gas resource potential within the Kennetcook area and to select future well locations.

Now the company is looking for investors.

“Our corporate strategy is to work with and seek the appropriate joint venture partners,” said CEO Mark Gustafson. “With the excellent base of technical information acquired, we believe it is prudent at this stage of our exploration cycle in the Windsor Basin to seek out appropriate joint venture partners in order to manage our exploration risk and to accelerate our 2008 drilling program.”

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