Saturn Minerals Inc.'s Oil Finds Indicate Boom Times in Central Canadian Province
April 23 2014 - 12:21PM
Saturn Minerals Inc. (TSX-V:SMI) (Frankfurt:SMK): Canada's East and
West often dominate the oil and gas business headlines.
But what about its vast centre?
In Canada's middle kingdom of Saskatchewan it is well known that
an ancient sea has left behind an abundance of potash and coal
which has made this province a global natural resource
powerhouse.
But also in the thick and diversified succession of sedimentary
rocks below the Prairie lands known as the Williston Basin, lie
some of the world's largest reserves of oil and natural gas. Since
the mid-2000s, exploration and development of the Bakken Formation
of the Williston Basin that stretches through North Dakota, Montana
and Saskatchewan have resulted in this area becoming the second
largest oil producing area in North America.
Today there are some 3,000 to 3,500 new oil and gas wells being
drilled each year in Saskatchewan, said provincial Energy and
Resources Minister Tim McMillan on the sidelines of the CAPP
Scotiabank Investment Symposium in Toronto earlier this month.
According to the Fraser Institute's Global Petroleum Survey,
Saskatchewan ranks number three in the 10 most attractive
jurisdictions for investment in the oil and gas industry, after
Oklahoma and Mississippi.
In 2011 Saskatchewan passed Alberta in light-oil production.
Last year, crude oil production in Saskatchewan recorded an average
487,400 b/d and is expected to grow further in 2014. Saskatchewan
is expected to take in revenues of C$15 billion ($14.6 billion)
from the sale of crude and natural gas in fiscal 2014/15.
Spurred by strong industry and investor interest, a favorable
permitting regime and growing demand for stable and secure energy
sources, sleepy corners of Saskatchewan are seeing boom times as
companies hone in on the oil and gas potential of the Williston
Basin.
One such place is the Town of Hudson Bay, a vibrant community of
2,500 people nestled between the Porcupine and Pasquia Hills that
rise above the northern section of the Williston Basin in
Northeastern Saskatchewan
Here where a spider web of railway tracks run in all four
directions, Saturn Minerals Inc. (TSX-V:SMI) (Frankfurt:SMK) has
set up shop after making three large coal discoveries and
identifying at least one, and potentially up to three, new
petroleum systems.
Between 2008-2010, Saturn acquired over 1,700 sq. km of
exploration rights for coal and oil & gas in the area and since
that time scaled the property holdings to 370,000 acres of core oil
rights and 26,500 acres of coal rights which either host
discoveries or a high potential for discovery.
Saturn today is one of the most active explorers and the largest
land owner in the northern Williston Basin.
"Saturn's mission is to be a leading industry player in the
discovery and commercial production of oil & gas resources in
the Northern Williston Basin," said Saturn director Stefan
Szary.
"Our oil prospects are conventional targets and do not involve
horizontal drilling or hydraulic fracturing making the prospects
extremely attractive on a cost/return basis," he said.
Saturn's properties are underlain by a thick succession of
sedimentary geology which has been shown to host high TOC (7-14%)
source rock (Devonian), high quality reservoir rock (up to 28%
porosity) and excellent cap rock states the company's initial
analysis.
"That rock is what you'll find in an oil field," said Stan
Szary, President and CEO of Saturn Minerals, adding " if you put
this rock under the right heat and pressure, it'll start sweating
out oil."
Saskatchewan's crude awakenings are also a boon for the First
Nations people.
In 2011, Saturn co-founded Inowending Exploration &
Development Inc. with a consortium of Saulteaux First Nations whose
Traditional Territories encompass Saturn's project areas.
The purpose of Inowending is to allow First Nations an
incorporated entity through which their communities can
meaningfully participate, own, and benefit from the development of
the natural resources of their homelands. Saturn is a minority
shareholder of Inowending with a 20% interest, the majority 80% of
Inowending is owned by the various First Nations whose home
communities are within the projects area.
CONTACT: Saturn Minerals Inc.
Stan Szary
Chief Executive Officer
(604) 685-6989
www.saturnminerals.com
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