Husky adds to oil sands holdings

Husky Energy has built on its major role in Alberta’s oil sands, picking up almost 23,680 acres for C$10 million in a region that is attracting a flurry of attention.

The Saleski property gives Husky another 2.7 billion barrels of bitumen reserves and will allow the company to become “a dominant oil sands player,” President and Chief Executive Officer John Lau said in a statement April 17.He said the purchase allows Husky to consolidate its total Saleski leases to 178,560 acres and builds its potential resources to 19.5 billion barrels of original bitumen in place.

The leases have an average of about 820 feet of overburden covering the Grosmont carbonate formation, where Shell Exploration & Production in the Americas startled observers this year when it paid C$465 million for Grosmont parcels.

No commercial projects are yet producing bitumen from the carbonates, although pilot ventures by Husky in the 1970s and 1980s, including a steam stimulation operation adjacent to the newly acquired leases, yielded some bitumen.

—Gary Park