Peel Plateau and the contiguous east flank of the Richardson Mountains, northeastern Yukon, comprise a relatively unexplored but prospective petroleum basin. Within the Devonian succession of this basin, shale rocks of unit Cf? are little known, but may have the potential to form an important conventional source and/or unconventional reservoir target. UnitCf? is dominated by thick intervals of dark grey to black, siliceous, organic-rich marine shale, together with intercalated siltstone and very fine grained sandstone beds. Although unit Cf? has been mapped at surface on the eastern flank of the Richardson Mountains, it is not known whether it occurs to the east in the Peel Plateau and Plain subsurface. A correlation of this unit to the Ford Lake Shale (CF? map unit), which occurs to the west in Eagle Plain and Kandik basins, has been implied.
In this study, unit Cf? was assessed for lithology, mineralogy, age and hydrocarbon source and reservoir rock potential, including type and quantity of organic matter and thermal maturity. Common organic geochemical analytical techniques were utilized (including Rock-Eval pyrolysis and optical microscopy), together with X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine shale mineralogy and age determination by palynology. Outcrop characteristics were then utilized to identify unitCf? in four subsurface Yukon wells: H-37, N-25, I-21 and A-42.