Here are a few examples:

15 or so years ago Petro Can sold the ''Ladyfern" field in Northern BC because they felt there was nothing there. Murphy was the first to move in and drilled wells that would make you shake in your boots...90+ mmscf. Within a few years 2 other major companies moved in and the boom was on.

3 years ago Oil Companies were in the process of phasing out of Northern BC because the concencus was that the area was tapped. One year later they have what they think is the biggest NG find ever in North America..The Horn River Basin

One of the biggest Unconventional finds in recent years is the Montney in Western Canada. Land sales for the rights to drill on BC land has run into the billions. The Montney has been ignored up until now by virtually every producer. It is now the future (along with Horn River) of Western Canadian exploration