Calgary - Strata Oil & Gas Inc (SOIGF-OTCBB) announced today that it has acquired rights to oil sands under 1280 acres (2 sections) of land in the Drowned area of the Wabasca oil sands in northern Alberta.
Strata's parcel ("Drowned Area Oil Sands Project") is to the south of the Brintnell-Pelican Lake oil sands deposit. "The oil sands in the Brintnell area tend to be in a thin pool, but spread out over a large area. In this region, cold production is used to extract the oil sands via horizontal wells" says Manny Dhinsa, president. "We consider the entire area to be highly prospective, and are pleased to have gained a significant foothold in what has become one of the most exciting emerging oil sands production plays in North America."
On Strata's Drowned Area Oil Sands Project, four wells were drilled over the lease for gas exploration. The logs demonstrate the presence of bitumen in all four wells, one of which shows several meters of oil sands beneath a cemented zone at the top of the McMurray Formation in the Wabiskaw Member at an approximate depth of 550 to 600 meters. Bitumen accumulations are also present in the underlying McMurray Formation as well as several intervals of bitumen (up to 6 meters in thickness) in the overlying Grand Rapids Formation (at a depth of approximately 425 to 500 meters). "The data indicates a potential in-place resource of 14.5 million barrels in the Wabiskaw and 37 million barrels in the McMurray. However we have not applied economic criteria to the analysis as of yet, and therefore have not determined how much if any of the resource may be recoverable" says Dhinsa.
Regionally, the Wabasca oil sands are part of Alberta's vast oil sands resource which covers approximately 54,363 square miles and covers four main regions: Athabasca/Wabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River. The Wabasca oil sands resource is estimated to be in excess of 54 billion barrels (Bitumens, Asphalts and Tar Sands, Elsevier).
"Our goal is to provide exceptional shareholder returns in a rising petroleum market, and to provide greater exposure to petroleum prices by maximizing our in-place resource per common share. Remaining centered exclusively in North America as a means to minimize risk, our emphasis is on full-cycle exploration," says Manny Dhinsa. Strata Oil & Gas is a junior petroleum exploration company, with its head office located in Calgary, Alberta. Strata's acquisition of the Drowned Area oil sands lease includes an overriding royalty agreement with the vendor.
Strata Oil & Gas is a trademark of Strata Oil & Gas Inc. This announcement contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, limited operating history, risks related to petroleum exploration, limited access to operating capital, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. More information is included in Strata's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission which may be accessed through the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov.
Contact:
Terry Uppal, Investor Relations
Toll-free 1-800-488-0032