Cracking the Cretaceous Code:
Unlocking the Strata of the WCSB
Session 1: Reconstructing the Cretaceous: Basin Development & Regional Context
Session Chairs: Joanna Czarnecki, Cenovus Energy & Adam Montgomery, Imperial Oil
10:15am-10:30am | Welcome and Session Introduction
10:30am-11:00am
Coast Belt Volcanic Arc in Relation to Rocky Mountain Foreland Basin
Greg Lynch
11:00am-11:30am
Examples of Late Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous incised valley paleodrainages in structurally controlled low to intermediate accommodation foreland basin settings- the Basal Quartz & McMurray Formations, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
Brian A. Zaitlin |Zaitlin Geoconsulting Ltd
11:30am-12:00pm
The Early Cretaceous McMurray Sediment-Routing System
Mike Blum | The University of Kansas
Co-author: Abdullah Wahbi | The University of Kansas
12:00pm-1:00pm | Lunch Break
Session 2: Investigating Cretaceous Coastal and Marginal Marine Systems
Session Chairs: Meagan Gilbert, Saskatchewan Geological Survey & Thomas Peploe, Canadian Natural
1:00pm-1:05pm | Session Introduction
1:05pm-1:35pm
Bitumen & Burrows: Reconstructing the Facies Architecture of the Wabiskaw Member of the Ells River Paleovalley
Cheryl Hodgson | Cenovus Energy / Simon Fraser University
Co-author: James MacEachern | Simon Fraser University
1:35pm-2:05pm
Stratigraphic Controls on Rare Earth Element Enrichment in Delta Plain Deposits of the Eastend Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Southwestern Saskatchewan
Meagan Gilbert | Saskatchewan Geological Survey
Co-author: Arden Marsh | Saskatchewan Geological Survey
2:05pm-2:35pm
Geochemical signatures of subtle sequence stratigraphic surfaces: A case study from the late Albian Viking Formation
Sarah Schultz | Simon Fraser University / Yukon Geological Survey
Co-author: James MacEachern | Simon Fraser University, Octavian Catuneanu | University of Alberta, John B. Gordon | Spectrum Geosciences
2:35pm-3:00pm | Coffee Break & Poster Viewing
3:00pm-3:30pm
Integrated Ichnological-Sedimentological Facies for Recognizing Delta Types: Examples from the Cretaceous of the Alberta Basin
James MacEachern, Kerrie Bann | Simon Fraser University
3:30pm-4:00pm
Presentation details coming soon!
Speaker to be announced
4:00pm-4:30pm
Repeated exposure of shorelines in the non-marine transition of the Lower Mannville Group in southern and west-central Alberta
Jennifer Scott | Mount Royal University
4:30pm-5:30pm | Networking Reception & Poster Viewing
Session 3: Channeling the past: Decoding ancient river systems
Session Chairs: Cynthia Hagstrom, Nova Geoscience & Bryce Jablonski, Canadian Natural
8:30am-8:35am | Session Introduction
8:35am-9:05am
Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of fluvial systems: Insights from the Dinosaur Park Formation for reservoir analogs
Paul Durkin | University of Manitoba
9:05am-9:35am
The Spirit River-Clearwater relationship: Correlation and mapping of an Upper Mannville fluvial-deltaic system in Central Alberta
Dan Tersmette | Tourmaline Oil Corp.
9:35am-10:05am
Bluesky Incised Valley of the Cliffdale Area
Jesse Schoengut | Canadian Natural
10:05am-10:30am | Coffee Break & Poster Viewing
10:30am-11:00am
Impacts of the Keg River Reef and Devonian Structural Controls on McMurray Formation Geomorphology and SAGD Reservoir Architecture at Sunrise Oil Sands
Joanna Czarnecki | Cenovus Energy
Co-author: Astrid Arts | Cenovus Energy
11:00am-11:30am
Driving Geological Insight: A Refined Interpretation of McMurray Fluvial Systems at Pike 1
Bryce Jablonski | Canadian Natural
11:30am-12:00pm
Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of the St. Mary River and Willow Creek Formations Exposed Along the Oldman River, Southwestern Alberta
Kendal Courchaine | University of Manitoba
12:00pm-1:00pm | Lunch Break
Session 4: Stratigraphic and Reservoir Insights from the Lower Cretaceous
Session Chairs: Sean Fletcher, Strathcona Resources & David Jenkinson, McDaniel & Associates
1:00pm-1:05pm | Session Introduction

1:05pm-1:35pm
Fluid Dynamics Post Operations in Undersaturated Tight Gas Sands: An example from the Wilrich, Spirit River Formation
Carolyn Currie | Cenovus Energy
1:35pm-2:05pm
Clearwater – Zeroing in on a Unique, Scalable Asset
Erin James | Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd.
2:05pm-2:35pm
Lower Mannville Geological Modelling and Development Planning
Juan Melendez | Turing Analytics
2:35pm-3:00pm | Coffee Break & Poster Viewing
3:00pm-3:30pm
Mannville Stack Heavy – Technology Case Studies
Chase Gilbert | McDaniel & Associates
3:30pm-4:00pm
Integrating Subsurface Reservoir Characterization with Advances in Drilling Designs: A Case Study from the Sunrise Thermal Asset
Patrick Caul | Cenovus Energy
Co-author: Jeff Larsen, Baz Rahman, Joanna Czarnecki | Cenovus Energy
4:00pm-4:30pm
Presentation details coming soon!
Speaker to be announced
4:30pm-5:30pm | Networking Reception & Poster Viewing
Session 5: Re-evaluating the Upper Cretaceous: Case Studies of the Colorado and Belly River Groups
Session Chairs: Eric Harris, Northern Hawk Energy & Jon White, Sproule ERCE
8:30am-8:35am | Session Introduction
8:35am-9:05am
Stratigraphic Architecture and Reservoir Facies Heterogeneity of the Basal Belly River Oil Play, Wilson Creek, Alberta
Tristan Euzen | IFP Technologies (Canada) Inc.
Co-author: Thomas F. Moslow,| Moslow Geoscience Consulting, Dusty Baldree, Steve Power, Mark Urban | Lotus Creek Exploration, Amir Iqbal | Argile Analytica
9:05am-9:35am
Shallow Stratigraphy, Bentonite Swarms, and Thermal Property Contrasts as Controls on Casing Deformation in SAGD Wells, Meota Area, Saskatchewan
Sean Fletcher | Strathcona Resources
9:35am-10:05am
Comparative Reservoir Characterization and Development Optimization of the Viking and Doe Creek Formations
Selena Brown | Teine Energy
10:05am-10:30am | Coffee Break
10:30am-11:00am
Controls on Fluid Distribution and Frac Efficiency in the Dunvegan, Kaybob, Alberta
Per Pedersen | University of Calgary
11:00am-11:30am
From Core to Cuttings: XRF-Guided Geosteering in the Viking
Shanelle Bowyer | Spartan Delta & Justin Besplug | XRF Solutions
11:30am-12:00pm
Clay Characterization, the Key for Accurate Petrophysical Properties in Shaly Sands: Viking Formation Case
Rafael Zambrano | CAYROS Group
12:00pm-1:00pm | Keynote Luncheon
Exploring the Geology of Caves in the Rocky Mountains and Adjacent Ranges
Jason Lavigne
Technical Program subject to change