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December 14, 2010

Implementation of the Scheme Approval Area Map Viewer

Effective December 14, 2010, the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) is providing access to a scheme approval area map viewer at http://mapview.ercb.ca/schemeapprovalareas. The viewer is also currently available through Quick Links on the ERCB home page www.ercb.ca. This viewer shows approval areas in Alberta for active conventional enhanced recovery (ER) schemes, in situ oil sands schemes, and mineable oil sands schemes, along with basic approval information, such as approval number, approval holder name, scheme name (if applicable), scheme type, scheme subtype (if applicable), approval area description (if applicable), and associated field/pool or area/deposit.

Conventional ER scheme subtypes include, but are not limited to, waterflood, chemical, and miscible – hydrocarbon. In situ oil sands scheme subtypes include commercial steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and commercial cyclic steam stimulation (CSS). For reference, the Cold Lake, Athabasca, and Peace River Oil Sands Areas and the oil sands surface mineable area described in ST98: Alberta’s Energy Reserves and Supply/Demand Outlook are also provided for viewing.

The Scheme Approval Area Map Viewer is available through your web browser and does not require any installation, setup, or configuration. Features of the Scheme Approval Area Map Viewer include

• the ability to narrow the geographic focus, including outlining a region of interest;
• the ability to search by area of interest, approval number, approval holder name, field/pool, or area/deposit, scheme name, and scheme subtype; and
• full map control, including zooming, panning, feature highlighting, and printing.

Only basic approval information is provided in the Scheme Approval Area Map Viewer; all relevant information can be found in the approval document itself. The map display is not intended to replace the approval document, and the approval document remains the official approval record. A copy of the approval document can be obtained using the Integrated Application Registry (IAR) Query, which is on the ERCB Web site under Industry Zone : Applications, if less than 30 days from the issue date, or from ERCB Information Services, 10 Floor, 250 – 5 Street SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 0R4.

A help file is provided to assist with the use of the Scheme Approval Area Map Viewer. The help file is located at the top left corner on the map viewer home page under the Help tab. The help file further explains the basic approval information provided and the features of the Scheme Approval Area Map Viewer.

A similar map viewer for coal mine approvals is also available on the ERCB Web site under Publications : Publications Available : Serial Publications : ST45: Coal Mine Atlas – Operating and Abandoned Coal Mines in Alberta.

For problems with launching the Scheme Approval Area Map Viewer, contact the Customer Contact Centre by e-mail at inquiries@ercb.ca or by telephone at 403-297-8311 (option 0). Questions regarding conventional ER scheme approval areas may be directed to the Resources Applications Help Line at 403-476-4967 or by e-mail at Resources.Applications@ercb.ca. Questions regarding oil sands scheme approval areas may be directed to Oil Sands and Coal Branch by e-mail at OSB-Admin@ercb.ca.

<original signed by>

Stephen Smith
Executive Manager
Applications Branch