Volume 1, Number 1, March 1974

EN:

Estimates of Canada's future reserves of conventional oil and gas made by the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources and the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists are largely estimates of "potential" reserves, i.e., reserves based on expected production from "frontier areas". These estimates are far too optimistic, and are not supported by a comparison of Canada's "frontier areas" with other large sedimentary basins in the world. Canada's capacity to depend upon domestic oil supplies wilt probably be at an end within 10 years unless the tar sands are exploited, and there are major objections to the very rapid development of the tar sands that would be necessary.

EN:

Energy requirements of the Province of Newfoundland are met almost entirely by hydroelectricity and petroleum fuels in the ratio of 1:4. Hydroelectric resources, both developed and potential, are very large in relation to the Province's requirements.

The petroleum potential of the Province is also substantial and undergoing extensive exploration in the offshore Atlantic area. Two wells drilled in 1973, on the northern Grand Banks and on the Labrador shelf, seem particularly significant.

EN:

The Alberta Oil Sands, which contain more than 890 billion barrels of crude bitumen in place, will require the expenditure of vast sums of money to overcome the major environmental problems associated with the surface mining and hot-water washing method, and to develop a viable in-situ method of squeezing the oil from the subsurface deposits if they are to offset the predicted decline in Canada's conventional oil production.

EN:

The Man and Resources program, and in particular the experience of the Task Force on Energy, was an interesting example of the criticism which faces scientific and professional people today.

Modern society is questioning many of our values. Other "disciplines" like ecologists, sociologists and grass roots politicians have demonstrated that they can and will delay or veto important developments.

The program which probably cost in excess of one million dollars, raised more hopes than solutions.

The academic and professional societies from the "hard disciplines" should recognize the problem and provide leadership to the "soft disciplines" and the politicians and the concerned citizens.

EN:

An I.G.C.P. group, in May of 1973 had the opportunity of visiting the Anti-Atlas of Morocco. The object of the excursion was to visit four of the Precambrian inliers of the Anti-Atlas to see the bases on which Choubert and Faure-Muret have established a stratigraphy for this very complex region. Another goal was to make comparisons with the Precambrian of SW. Europe and the Canadian Shield. This brief report on the excursion points out the many remarkable similarities between the history of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas and the eastern part of the Canadian Shield. Attention is also focussed on a possible occurrence of early Proterozoic oceanic crust in the Anti-Atlas.

FR:

Une équipe I.G.C.P. participait au mois de mai, 1973 à une excursion au Maroc, dans le but d'examiner les roches Précambriennes de quatres boutonnières de l'Anti-Atlas. Les participants ont aussi pu examiner les critères sur lesquels Choubert et Faure-Muret ont établi la subdivision stratigraphique du Précambrien marocain. Il y a plusieurs similarités remarquables entre l'évolution précambrienne de l'Anti-Atlas et la partie orientale du Bouclier canadien. Nous voulons aussi signaler qu'il existe, dans l'Anti-Atlas une possibilité de préservation de quelques indices d'une croûte océanique d'âge Protérozoique Inférieur.

EN:

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