Strata Oil & Gas Inc., reports that its scientific team has initiated a study to further evaluate the characteristics of its Debolt formation reservoir relative to the geologically older Grosmont reservoir to the east, which is now the focus of a commercial "bitumen from carbonate" demonstration project recently approved by the Alberta Government for up to 10,000 barrels per day.
"With recent industry progress in bringing carbonate-hosted bitumen closer to commercial production, we've asked our scientific team to analyze and compare the characteristics of our Debolt reservoir to that of the currently-producing Grosmont. We've long believed that the Debolt reservoir has certain characteristics which may be particularly favorable to production, and therefore in light of the demonstrated success in the Grosmont, we've asked our team to conduct this study. We also believe the study will assist us in fine-tuning our preferred recovery method," said President and CEO of Strata Oil & Gas, Ron Daems.
The report, expected in a month, will augment Strata Oil's 2010 scientific findings on the characteristics of the Debolt formation versus the Grosmont. Earlier findings identified the Grosmont and Debolt formations as having characteristics which provide high lateral permeability inside ore zones with very high oil saturation. Intergranular porosity is reported in both cases, with the Debolt formation showing higher reservoir pressure and temperature which would cause a lower viscosity in bitumen and potentially lead to improved recoverability.
In light of recent industry participants moving into the commercial demonstration phase of bitumen-from-carbonate production from the Grosmont, Strata Oil is further validating the technical specifics of its reservoir to ensure the next steps to production are properly directed. Strata Oil was one of the first movers in the emerging carbonate play, with its major world-class discovery in the Peace River region of Alberta. Strata Oil, alongside such major participants as Shell and Husky, is moving its discovery toward production.