The Liard Basin, part of which is in the Yukon, is one of the largest shale gas resources in the world, a new assessment shows.

The National Energy Board (NEB), the Yukon Geological Survey, the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission, the Northwest Territories Geological Survey and the British Columbia Ministry of Natural Gas Development released the revelation today.

It comes in the form of the first detailed study estimating the marketable unconventional natural gas resources in the Liard Basin.

The basin is expected to contain 219 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of marketable, unconventional natural gas, the assessment has found.

That makes it Canada’s second-largest gas resource behind the Montney Formation (449 Tcf) to the southeast in B.C. and Alberta.

Canada’s total natural gas usage in 2014 was 3.2 Tcf. That makes the Liard Basin unconventional gas resource equivalent to more than 68 years at Canada’s 2014 consumption rate.

“As changes in technology continue to enable industry to unlock new unconventional gas resources, a collaborative resource assessment reveals that the Liard Basin, spanning the boundaries of British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories, is one of the largest shale gas resources in the world and Canada’s second-largest known gas resource,” the NEB, joined by the other agencies, said in a statement from Calgary.

“There are already existing gas pipelines in the basin in all three jurisdictions because of conventional wells that have been producing for decades.”

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Scott Kent hailed the results of the research.

“This resource assessment is an important step in fulfilling the Government of Yukon’s commitment to increase its knowledge and understanding of Yukon’s shale gas potential,” Kent said today.

“With a limited land base available for oil and gas development, this assessment demonstrates the enormous energy potential in southeast Yukon.”

A resource assessment is an estimate of the amount of oil and/or natural gas found in a given reservoir, and how much can be produced using existing technology.

Resource assessments are based on a number of parameters.

They include the geology of the reservoir and production from existing wells.

“This assessment confirms the magnitude of resource potential we thought to exist in this region of the Northwest Territories,” N.W.T. Premier Bob McLeod said today.

“Development of natural resources is important to the N.W.T.’s economy. We are committed to pursuing responsible stewardship of these resources through our land and resource management regimes. ”

Canada has more than 850 Tcf of remaining, marketable gas in areas already served by major pipeline systems, the NEB said. This is the equivalent of 267 years of supply based on Canada’s 2014 consumption rate.

“This study reinforces the fact that Canada has a very large natural gas resource base at its disposal, and Canadians will be well supplied with natural gas for as long as they need it,” said Peter Watson, the NEB’s chair and CEO.

“Studies like this one also enable all governments to be better informed when building policy around resource development and energy markets.”

“The report’s findings mean that the potential amount of natural gas available for export has increased substantially – our province continues to show prospective LNG companies just how much natural gas is available,” said Rich Coleman, B.C.’s minister of Natural Gas Development.

“This certainty makes our province an attractive location for investors, which means long-term economic activity and jobs for British Columbians for years to come.”

The NEB is an independent federal regulator of several parts of Canada’s energy industry with the safety of Canadians and protection of the environment as its top priority.

Its purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest.