Our Core Research Centre (CRC) is a world-class storage and research facility. It holds a vast collection of geological materials from and information on most of the oil and gas wells drilled in Alberta. The CRC’s collection provides the most complete drilling history of a defined geographical area in the world—with drill cuttings and well cores dating back to 1911 and 1925, respectively.
Here, you’ll find
- more than 1.55 million boxes of well core;
- more than 20 million vials of drill-cutting samples, representing an estimated 84 million metres drilled; and
- daily drilling reports from over 417 000 wells.
Who uses the centre?
Industry experts and academics visit the centre to review core, drilling cuttings, and drilling and completion records to gain a better understanding of the geology at existing and potential energy development sites. We also offer an area for the public to access the CRC’s resources.
Order Samples
Requests for cores and drill-cutting samples must be placed through the CRC. For details, see our fee schedule.
To request a tour report, please complete our tour request form.
Steps to Order
- Submit a complete list of cores—identified by unique well identifier—that you would like to view. Fill out the booking form, with all the pertinent details, and email it to CRC.ServiceDesk@aer.ca or fill out a service reservation form at the CRC.
- Our CRC service desk will review your request and let you know when the requested cores will be available.
- Individuals accessing or using any chemicals will also need to acknowledge they have a valid WHMIS Certificate, which must be provided upon request.
- Book your viewing dates. If some of your requested core is unavailable, we will ask if you’d prefer to wait until the core is available, and if you want to book multiple dates to view the core. We treat multiple dates as multiple bookings and will charge accordingly.
Please refer to the Products and Services Catalogue for more on our products, and contact the CRC to order items.
Find the CRC
Core Research Centre
3545 Research Way NW (University Research Park)
Calgary, Alberta T2L 1Y7
Open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(Business hours are unaffected by the construction).
Contact the CRC
If you have questions, call 403-297-6400 or email CRC.ServiceDesk@aer.ca.
