EVALUATION OF THE HYDROCARBON PROSPECTIVITY OF THE OLD CROW FLATS AREA OF THE NORTHERN YUKON

Assessments of the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Old Crow Basin in northern Yukon Territory have differed qualitatively: opinion has varied between low and high, and an impression given that the Old Crow Basin is likely to contain significant petroleum reserves. This review considers recently published interpretations of the regional stratigraphy and paleogeography of potential reservoir and source rock facies, new regional data on source rock richness and maturity, interpretations of reprocessed seismic lines within the basin, and likely structural models for the basin. We conclude that the sparse but diverse data currently supports a ''low to moderate'' evaluation of hydrocarbon potential which is relatively pessimistic for an undrilled frontier basin.