Patricia Lee, Geologist

Patricia Lee was born in Montreal. She earned a B.Sc. Honours from McGill University in 1978 and was immediately hired by Shell Canada, based in Calgary. Wanting to work on projects that included seismic exploration, modeling and interpretation, Lee convinced Shell to allow her to work in both their geology and geophysics departments, an unorthodox cross-appointment that had never been tried before. She was instructed to examine the Swan Hills Formation, which contained significant oil reserves. Shell hoped that this formation

could be demonstrated to extend much further south than the then-current boundary.

Lee began to use seismic data from the Caroline region and interpreted the data as showing that there was a potential for significant pockets of petroleum in the region. Her interpretation of the seismic data was contrary to that made by previous, more senior and experienced geophysicists, who believed that the possibility petroleum would be found around Caroline was extremely remote.

Lee predicted that there was a reserve only one or two kilometres wide, but twenty-five kilometres long through the Caroline region. She conservatively estimated that the reserve held nearly a trillion cubic feet of gas. Despite her lack of experience and the restricted financing for oil and gas exploration in the 1980s, Lee’s estimates and explanations intrigued Shell executives, and the company began new seismic testing in the area.

A number of other companies were drilling exploratory wells in the area, but, based on their locations, Lee correctly predicted that they would be

unsuccessful. Against all logic, in December 1985, Shell started an exploratory well. On February 13, 1986, the well hit a large gas-bearing porous reef at 3,653 m (2 mi.), exactly where Lee had predicted it would be. Shell started a second well slightly to the north, directly between two of its competitors’ unsuccessful wells. This well hit an even larger gas-bearing formation. Shell kept the find quiet and began to acquire drilling rights for the area. By the time the one-year confidentiality period expired in 1987, Shell had acquired drilling rights for more than half of the reserve.

The Caroline discovery was huge, almost twice Lee’s original estimates. It contained 10% of Alberta’s liquid natural gas reserves, 15% of its condensate reserves and 25% of its sulfur reserves. It was an asset to the province and to Shell Canada and generated billions of dollars of revenue.

Patricia Lee went on to other promising

discoveries in other regions of southern Alberta and has held numerous high-ranking positions. As of 2005, she was Shell Canada’s Chief Geologist. In that same year, she was awarded the Stanley E. Slipper Award, the highest honour of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists.