Welcome to OGSR Wireline for 2026!

We are pleased to announce drilling activity for 2025 in review, with a look at licences issued, wells completed, and wells plugged. Then we take a quick look at 2024 oil and natural gas production from annual reports received in 2025. 

Our downloads section highlights all the 2024 annual reports that are now available to download from our webpage. 

The GIS team is announcing highlights on their work in mapping and 3D models, our lab team tally up their progress with processing new samples for the catalogue, and we take a look at our YouTube channel activity for the year.

We’d like to thank all users of the OGSR Library in 2025. Your support fuels our mission to provide exceptional subsurface data resources. We look forward to another year of collaboration and discovery!

All the best,

Summary of 2025 Oil, Gas, and Salt Resources Drilling Activity in Ontario

by Jordan

Summary of 2024 Production

by Matt

New Downloads Available

by OGSR Library

2025 GIS at the Library

by Connor and Melissa

In The Lab:

New Year… New Samples!

by Clodagh

2025 On YouTube

by Matt

Call for EPEX Speakers

by OGSR Library

Monthly Drilling Report

by OGSR Library

Summary of 2025 Oil, Gas, and Salt Resources Drilling Activity in Ontario

by Jordan

In 2025, the OGSR Library recorded 35 new well licences issued under the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act, along with 25 licences issued for existing wells. New licensing was dominated by stratigraphic testing: 29 of 35 licences were issued for STR-related. Three petroleum exploration wells were licensed, all in Lambton. One licence was issued for each of: solution mining, natural gas storage, and oil & gas producer. Licensing activity was concentrated in Durham (11 licences) and Peel Region (10 licences, all in Toronto), with additional clusters in Grey (5) and Lambton (4).

A total of 9 wells reached total depth (TD) during the year, with a combined drilled depth of 2,835 m. Most TDs were stratigraphic tests designated STR/ABD (6 of 9). TD activity was concentrated in Toronto (5 TDs), followed by Lambton (2 TDs; Moore and Sarnia, NGS and BW, respectively), and one TD each in Kent (Dover) and Lennox/Addington (Richmond). Depths ranged from 60.16 m to 899.70 m (median 63.70 m, mean 315.01 m). A single well classed as a new pool wildcat reached TD in Kent, Dover, and was later abandoned as a dry hole.

Plugging activity remained substantial, with 58 wells plugged in 2025. Plugging was concentrated in Lambton (19) and Norfolk (15), together accounting for 34 of 58 wells. By status, the largest share of plugged wells were Gas Producer (21) and Historic Oil Producer (9), with additional activity in Private Gas Producer (6) and Stratigraphic Test (6). Overall, 2025 reflects a year characterized by continued stratigraphic testing and steady abandonment work, with lower activity in exploration and development.

Table 1: New Licences Issued by Location and Well Type

DEV = Development, NPW = New Pool Wildcat

Table 2: Wells Reaching Total Depth in 2025

836.00

STR = Stratigraphic Test, NGS = Natural Gas Storage, DH = Dry Hole, BW = Brine Well

Table 3: Plugged Wells by Location and Well Type

Summary of 2024 Production

by Matt

In 2024, total oil production was 38,653.99 m³, calculated from form 8 reports received in 2025. This represents a decline of ~9% from the previous year's production of 42,234.77 m³. Geographically, the majority oil production came from Lambton county (42%), Essex county (29%), and Kent county (19%). Geologically the highest percentage of oil production came from the Ordovician (44%), followed by Devonian (29%), Silurian (20%), and Cambrian (7%).

The total natural gas production in 2024 was 93,691.12 10³m³, calculated from form 8 reports received in 2025. This represents a decline of ~9% from the previous year's production of 102,422.90 10³m³. 72% of natural gas production came from wells in Lake Erie, with remaining production coming from Norfolk county (8%), Oxford county (5%), Elgin county (3%), with remaining . Geologically most natural gas in Ontario comes from wells targeting the Silurian Age (90%), with remaining production from the Ordovician (5%) and the Cambrian (5%).   

NEW DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE

• 2024 Production Reports (Member's Data)
• 2024 Geophysical Exploration Reports (Member's Data)
• 2024 Disposal Reports
• 2024 Injection Reports

Connor: The GIS team had a productive 2025 here at the library. Our work spanned a wide range of GIS data, from historic paper maps to modern digital mapping and even 3D printed models!

In the 3D print lab, we collaborated with clients to bring their data to life in tangible ways. Custom models offered fresh perspectives and a physical presence, helping users interact with information in new and meaningful ways.

We also reintroduced our Southern Ontario Hydrostratigraphy 3D printed model. Building on our original resin models, this updated version uses a completely new material and process, allowing for finer detail, enhanced usability, and a larger format.

Last year we also began the process of revamping our large stratigraphy puzzle that has been one of our most popular models featured at our displays! By building on what worked well and addressing areas for improvement, we aim to enhance tactile usability, highlight relevant geologies, expand examples of resources and formations, and provide a stronger educational foundation.

Back in the 2D realm, the library stayed busy producing maps for client requests and publishing our annual Pools and Pipelines map. The 2025 edition includes visual upgrades and new contextual datasets, such as bathymetry and topography.

Melissa: 2025 was a busy year as a worker in the GIS department at the OGSR Library. During 2025 I worked on a variety of tasks some of which are on-going, long-term projects by the OGSR Library. These tasks included core photogrammetry, the mapping of boreholes, creating maps, updating the database using historic documents, creating super overlays of georeferenced scanned historic maps and standard/custom chip photography. 

The OGSR Library’s chip photos, our mapped boreholes of various types such as oil/gas and georeferenced scanned historic maps can be found in our free Google Earth plugin PxTools. Updates to our database can be found on our website and the creation of virtual 3D models of core pieces using core photogrammetry and maps can be requested from our GIS department. 

For 2026, as a member of the OGSR Library GIS department I will continue with our current on-going long-term projects of core photography, chip photography, core photogrammetry and creating super overlays of georeferenced scanned historic maps to add to our Google Earth PxTools. 

New year… New samples! 

by Clodagh

The laboratory team at the OGSR has had a highly productive and successful 2025. As the year came to a close, we were able to finish it off with a bang. In total, we were able to process 32 wells worth of new vialled chip samples! From Lambton to Welland, from Elgin to Brant – the OGSR is happy to start the new year with a total of 5,518 new vials of samples added to our catalogue. These new additions span roughly 16,446.5 m combined and include lithologies such as salt, sand, micas, and more! For those who have been looking forward to seeing new samples added to the library’s collection, we hope you can make time in the new year to come check these new vials out!

Figure 1: series of vials displaying new samples and new sample sleeves produced at the OGSR in 2025

Looking forward into 2026, the laboratory team is ramping up for a busy year of organization, production, and renovation. The laboratory team will be undertaking the long-awaited process of re-organizing the main and secondary warehouses to ensure that clients can have the most efficient (and fun!) visit. By the end of the year, we hope to be well into this project if not finished. Clients of the OGSR can also look forward to some new additions of slabbed core to the collection! Throughout the new year, our laboratory team will be processing several new cores to be filed in our facility. Stay tuned for further information regarding these additions and what you can expect from them. 

Here at the OGSR, we strive to provide clients with the best support and products possible. The laboratory team has made it our new year’s resolution to upgrade the client experience and elevate our facility to a new standard of functionality and appearance. We hope to see many clients (current and new!) as we partake on our 2026 journey.

OGSR Library on YouTube 2025 Review

by Matt

The OGSR Library's YouTube channel saw steady growth throughout 2025. 92 new subscribers were added, bringing total subscribers up to 824, a 12.6% increase from last year. Our videos were watched for 723 hours total, up 7% over the previous year. We released 15 videos and 2 shorts on the channel during the year, with all 15 videos coming from the two previous EPEX conferences. EPEX 2025 had an expanded presentation schedule of 16 speakers (up from the usual 9-12), some of which were double length slots, and a full block core workshop. The 2025 EPEX core workshop and remaining EPEX presentations are scheduled to release in the first quarter of this year. EPEX 2026 will have a comparatively expanded schedule.

Right before the holiday break we released a Year-End Wrapped video with a look at some industry stats, resources added to the OGSR Library, the top 3 EPEX videos from 2025, and some other fun goodies.

Click above image for the 2025 wrapped video

2026 is shaping up to be a big year for core workshop videos. Aside from the 2025 EPEX core workshop mentioned above, we have two Cambrian themed workshops filmed for the VR volume series, a non-VR core workshop about Silurian storage reservoirs, and a new EPEX core workshop and virtual volume, for which the winning candidate will be chosen in early February. Be sure to read our upcoming newsletters to find out about our latest and upcoming video releases. 

OPI is looking for presenters for EPEX 2026: OPI's 63rd Conference and Trade Show. The conference will take place on June 3^rd and 4th, 2026, at the Best Western Lamplighter, in London, Ontario.

This conference focuses on topics related to Ontario’s subsurface energy resources such as oil and natural gas, salt, underground storage, and emerging technologies such as compressed air energy storage and carbon capture and storage. 

The conference draws an average of 100 attendees made up of industry professionals from the oil, natural gas, salt, underground storage sectors, government, academics and more. 

Presentations will be recorded on the day of the conference and archived on the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Library YouTube channel with the speaker's permission. Videos from the EPEX conference have been recorded since 2018, ensuring that the knowledge shared is preserved and easily accessible. EPEX presentations have been viewed ~50,000 times by a global audience.

A playlist of 60 EPEX presentations is available here

Contact OPI (lorrainefillmore@ontariopetroleuminstitute.com), or the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Library (info@ogsrlibrary.com) to reserve your spot.

Promote and preserve your industry knowledge – speak now!

OOGSRC is seeking to fund the creation of a new core workshop for EPEX 2026

There is still time to apply - see application for details

New Licences Issued

None

New Licences Issued for Existing Wells

New Wells TD'd

None

Plugged Wells

Download the MDR (.xlsx)