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In February 2007, Oilsands Quest initiated pre-commercialization studies for its Axe Lake Discovery with industry-leading engineering and technology specialists. In September 2007, the company announced the initiation of plans for field tests of the reservoir at its Axe Lake Discovery.
In January 2008, Oilsands Quest announced a program of reservoir testing at up to three sites in the Axe Lake Discovery area. The testing program was developed after extensive, ongoing laboratory testing, reservoir simulation studies and the definition of a reservoir field test program to evaluate reservoir response to varying temperatures and pressures of steam and steam with solvents. The three sites selected for reservoir testing have varying overburden and pay thickness.
The purpose of the reservoir test program is to correlate field results with laboratory and simulation tests; to measure heat, pressure and fluid migration in the reservoir; and to further define recovery factors and energy efficiencies.
The purpose of the first phase is to measure resource-specific heat and fluid movement under specific operating conditions on a field scale to complement ongoing simulation and laboratory analysis programs.
As of October 2009, the electrical, mechanical and boiler facilities at Test Site 1 were successfully commissioned in preparation for the start-up of testing. Pressure and temperature measurements began at Test Site 1 to capture the baseline reservoir pressure and temperature before commencing the vertical well test program. At Test Site 3, two vertical wells were perforated. On October 25, 2009, cold water injection and production was commenced at low pressure and maintained for 24 hours, following which hot water was injected and produced, resulting in bitumen mobilization.
Along with reservoir testing, an overburden testing program was initiated in late 2009 that drilled 16 core holes across the Axe Lake reservoirs. Analysis of those core samples by an independent reservoir research laboratory shows the potential for the Axe Lake overburden to contain steam and serve as a cap rock for steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) recovery.
The purpose of the next phase of testing is to evaluate and analyze information gathered to date regarding mobilization agents and to measure field scale response using horizontal wells. This phase of the program will consider expanding the test sites with horizontal wells, potentially in a typical steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) configuration, and/or injection of mobilization agents other than steam.
As part of the overall Axe Lake development plan, Oilsands Quest continues to conduct advanced economic feasibility, financial planning and risk assessment studies for full commercial development.
Axe Lake Discovery Area
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