In addition to 230 preexisting wells on Grizzly leases, during the past three winters drilling seasons Grizzly Oil Sands has drilled a total of 131 oil sand evaluation wells on five of the lease areas in the Athabasca Oil Sand Region. The Grizzly/Bounty held lands had an additional 30 oil sand tests drilled. During this period, offsetting oil sand operators have drilled over 775 evaluation wells within three sections (miles) of leases adjoining Grizzly’s holdings. The results of the drilling data have led to several announced thermal recovery projects near Grizzly lands but most notable, our Grizzly Algar Lake SAGD Project.
The Algar Lake SAGD Project, located approximately 25 miles ( 40 Km) southwest of Fort McMurray has been identified utilizing three seasons of delineation drilling, 3D seismic, and close comparisons to similar SAGD projects as a Grizzly’s first SAGD thermal project. The necessary well control, engineering and environmental studies have been conducted in order to file an application for a SAGD project with the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) in early 2010. Figure 3 shows a detail of the Algar Lake Project area. The Algar Lake Project is expected perform much like the nearby and similarly developed JACOS Hangingstone SAGD project which has produced a total of 20.5 million barrels of bitumen since first production (1999) and currently averages 7500-8000 barrels per day.