Athabasca Viking/Grand Rapids/Nisku Technical ... - Oil Reserve Inc.

feet of gas and two and one barrels of oil respectively. The first event in both wells is commingled
production from the Grand Rapids and the McMurray Formations; however this first event did not produce
any oil in either well. Oil production is most likely from the Grand Rapids as it was only produced in each
well’s second event, Grand Rapids-only events. Neither analogue well has Upper Grand Rapids oil tests
therefore the specific viscosity is unknown.
These wells can be considered analogues due to the proximity to the ORI Grand Rapids focus area and
the inferior well log characteristics as compared to those of the Grand Rapids in the focus area. The
exact reservoir parameters are difficult to determine in the analogue wells due to 100/10-31-068-13W4
having only resistivity well logs, 100/07-07-069-13W4 showing cross-over throughout the entire pay
interval and both wells being of an older vintage (pre 1978). The bitumen net pay averages 1.5 meters
(half of Grand Rapids net pay on the ORI focus area) and similar porosity and hydrocarbon saturation as
on the ORI focus area. This analogue allows these resources to be classified as prospective.
Nisku
Laricina’s Germain project site is located approximately 108 kilometers northwest of ORI lands. There
are three target pools at Germain, the bitumen carbonates of the Grosmont and Nisku Formations as well
as the oil sands of the Grand Rapids Formation (CERI, 2009). The Grosmont Formation is the primary
target, being developed using enhanced recovery methods. These include an optimized combination of
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (“SAGD”), solvent-cyclic SAGD (“SC-SAGD”) and Non-Thermal Solvent
Recovery. Laricina has indicated preliminary success in early testing of the Nisku at the Germain Field
(Laricina, 2011) however the specific data is not yet publically available.
Nisku well log control is scarcer in Germain than in Nixon. The limited number of well logs and core
recoveries from this field indicate cavernous porosity (35 to 40 percent), high permeability (500 to 1,000
millidarcies), higher oil pore volumes (60 to 80 percent) and a thicker average gross interval (45 meters);
seemingly higher quality than the Nisku on ORI land. Due to the high degree of heterogeneity of the
Nisku in Germain, as in Nixon, current well log and core control may not be sampling the range of actual
values adequately however.
The ASC considers that there is currently “ no commercially viable production from bituminous
carbonate reservoirs and there have been only one or two significant pilot tests.” This is the case for the
Nisku pilot in the Germain area. It has not produced bitumen from the Nisku, only a reported test and
considering the differences in apparent reservoir quality, limited data set and lack of production, the Nisku
at Germain cannot be considered an analogue. Substantial supporting technical evidence does not exist
to prove recoverability in Nixon. Recovery factors have therefore not been applied to the undiscovered
petroleum initially-in-place volumes.
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