Blackrod commercial SAGD application filed
June 5, 2012
BlackPearl Resources Inc., Calgary, has filed an 80,000 b/d commercial development application with the Energy Resources Conservation Board and Alberta Environment for its Blackrod steam-assisted gravity drainage project in northern Alberta.
The first phase of the project is planned for 20,000 b/d of oil. Production is expected to start by the end of 2015 assuming regulatory approvals are received within 2 years.
Filing the commercial application is the culmination of 3 years of delineation drilling, source water testing, cap rock integrity testing, and a successful SAGD pilot operation that has reached commercial production rates after 10 months of testing.
The commercial application included extensive public consultation and numerous environmental studies, including baseline testing for air, sound, water, and surface disturbance and a proactive program to monitor and mitigate environmental impacts, BlackPearl said.
Alan Petzet is Chief Editor-Exploration of Oil & Gas Journal in Houston. He is editor of the Weekly E&D Newsletter, emailed to OGJ subscribers, and a regular contributor to the OGJ Online subscriber website.
Petzet joined OGJ in 1981 after 13 years in the Tulsa World business-oil department. He was named OGJ Exploration Editor in 1990. A native of Tulsa, he has a BA in journalism from the University of Tulsa.