Petrobank Fires Up Third Well Pair at Whitesands
Monday June 18, 2:08 am ET
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CALGARY, ALBERTA--(CCNMatthews - June 18, 2007) - Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. (TSX:PBG - News; OSLO:PBG - News; "Petrobank" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that we have commenced air injection on our third THAI(TM) well pair at the WHITESANDS project. The Pre-Ignition-Heating-Cycle ("PIHC") on the third well pair began in late December 2006, and air injection was initially targeted for the end of the first quarter 2007. The initiation of air injection operations on this third well pair was delayed due to mechanical problems with the temporary steam generator used for the PIHC, resulting in a six week period of restricted PIHC steam injection. However, the elapsed time and volume of steam injected during the PIHC for the third well pair, excluding the temporary steam generator downtime, has been similar to the second well pair. The composition of produced gas from the third well indicates that combustion has been initiated and early gross fluid production capability is similar to the first two well pairs.
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We have been continuously injecting air in the first well pair since late July 2006 and in the second well pair since early January 2007. During the first quarter, the maximum gross fluid production capability from the first two well pairs was demonstrated to be approximately 2,000 barrels of fluid per day each, with oil cuts rising to greater than 50%. Due to higher than anticipated sand production volumes however, we have had to restrict the wells to a very low choke setting in order to achieve higher on-stream factors through the surface facilities. A test sand knock out vessel was installed on the first well pair, which has demonstrated that the sand can easily be removed from the produced fluids and which enabled us to design a larger vessel that will allow us to operate the wells at their demonstrated capacity. These facilities have been ordered for each of the three well pairs and are expected to be installed beginning early in the third quarter.
In addition to the retrofitting of the facilities for sand handling, we have also initiated a de-bottlenecking and expansion project to add three additional well pairs, which are anticipated to be drilled later this year. These wells will be longer (700 metres), and will incorporate our CAPRI(TM) technology, in which a catalyst bed is added around the outside of the horizontal production well bore to enhance the upgrading of the oil, in-situ. We also will implement a modified down-hole completion to reduce sand production. Lessons learned from the current project are being incorporated into the design of the three well expansion, as well as the design of our first 10,000 barrel per day project, which will be the initial full scale development beyond our current operations. We expect to be filing an application for this 10,000 barrel per day project before the end of 2007. Ultimately we expect our existing WHITESANDS leases to be able to generate 100,000 barrels a day of production, through the implementation of additional development phases.
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd.
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. is a Calgary-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company with operations in western Canada and Colombia. The Corporation operates high-impact projects through three business units. The Canadian Business Unit is developing a solid production platform from low risk gas opportunities in central Alberta and an extensive inventory of Bakken light oil locations in southeast Saskatchewan, complemented by new exploration projects and a large undeveloped land base. The Latin American Business Unit is operated by Petrobank's 80.7% owned, TSX-listed subsidiary, Petrominerales Ltd. (trading symbol: PMG), which produces oil through two Incremental Production Contracts in Colombia and has exploration contracts covering 1.5 million acres in the Llanos and Putumayo Basins. WHITESANDS Insitu Ltd., Petrobank's wholly-owned subsidiary, owns 39,680 acres of oil sands leases with an estimated 2.6 billion barrels of gross bitumen-in-place and operates the WHITESANDS project which is field-demonstrating Petrobank's patented THAI(TM) heavy oil recovery process. THAI(TM) is an evolutionary in-situ combustion technology for the recovery of bitumen and heavy oil that integrates existing proven technologies and provides the opportunity to create a step change in the development of heavy oil resources globally. THAI(TM) and CAPRI(TM) are registered trademarks of Archon Technologies Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information provided in this release constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although Petrobank believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. You can find a discussion of those risks and uncertainties in our Canadian securities filings. While Petrobank makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Petrobank assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Trademarks
THAI(TM) and CAPRI(TM) are registered trademarks of Archon Technologies Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd.
Contact:
John D. Wright
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd.
President and Chief Executive Officer
(403) 750-4400
Chris J. Bloomer
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd.
Vice-President Heavy Oil
(403) 750-4400
Corey C. Ruttan
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd.
Chief Financial Officer
(403) 750-4400
(403) 266-5794 (FAX)
Email: ir@petrobank.com
Website: www.petrobank.com
Source: Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. |
