Saskatchewan edges toward breakthrough
The province of Saskatchewan is one step closer to joining Alberta as an oil sands producer.
Oilsands Quest has made regulatory submissions to the environment and energy departments to produce up to 30,000 barrels per day using thermal recovery methods at its Axe Lake property.
As well as production approval, it needs permissions to conduct a steam-assisted gravity drainage test to establish the operating parameters of a commercial venture.
The company said it is prepared to submit the commercial proposal following successful completion of the SAGD test.
Meanwhile, it will continue to develop detailed engineering plans, cost estimates and financing arrangements based on current production testing activities.
Oilsands Quest Chief Financial Officer Susan MacKenzie said the latest filings are an “exciting milestone” for her company and the province as concrete steps towards Saskatchewan’s first commercial SAGD project.
Oilsands Quest has also requested a second one-year extension of its Saskatchewan oil sands permits, while notifying the government it will relinquish two of its northernmost land permits while it concentrates on the properties considered to be prospective.
The company, which owns 100 percent of 652,000 acres of permits and licenses, reported last year that it had found an estimated 1.5 billion barrels from 170 wells.
The province is believed to hold 60 billion barrels of bitumen resource, much of it seen as a natural extension from Alberta oil sands deposits that are home to mega-projects by companies such as Suncor Energy and Husky Energy.
—Gary Park
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