Husky Energy acquires oil sands leases

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 19 -- Husky Energy Inc., Calgary, acquired 23,680 acres of Alberta oil sands leases adjacent to its Saleski property near Fort McMurray at an Apr. 5 land sale. The $10 million purchase will add about 2.7 billion bbl of bitumen in place to existing holdings, increasing potential Saleski resources to about 19.5 billion bbl of original bitumen in place and consolidating total Husky leases in Saleski to 178,560 acres.

The Saleski lease potential is in the Grosmont carbonate formation and has on average 250 m of overburden. Husky completed a four-well evaluation program this winter on Saleski and plans to spend $25 million for resource evaluation wells at Saleski and at its Caribou Lake lease near Cold Lake.

Husky will spend a total of $230 million in 2006 on oil sands projects in Alberta, including $145 million finishing construction of its 30,000-b/d Tucker oil sands project near Cold Lake. Commissioning of Tucker facilities and steam injection is expected by mid-2006, with first oil production by yearend.