CANADA GAS CORP. ENGAGES SPROULE ASSOCIATES LTD. FOR EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW DISCUSSES UNCONVENTIONAL POTENTIAL UPDATES OTHER ACTIVITIES
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - July 30, 2008 - Canada Gas Corp. ("Canada Gas" or the "Company") (formerly Wyn Developments Inc.) would like to update recent progress and clarify several inaccuracies regarding the Company. Highlights of this update are summarized below.
Highlights:
- Canada Gas retains right to call for operations on Prophet River project;
- Sproule Associates Ltd., oil and gas consultants of Calgary, Alberta has been engaged to perform an independent exploration and development review of the Prophet River project;
- A Canada Gas internal review of well data and assets suggests presence of Cretaceous Buckinhorse shale, Triassic Montney siltstone and Devonian Ft.Simpson and Muskwa shales presence on the Company's lands, in addition to Triassic Halfway, Mississippian Shunda and Devonian Slave Point prospects. Thom Bainbridge, B.App.Sc, P.Geol, the Company's consulting geologist suggests "there is fundamentally no geological difference between the Ft.Simpson/Muskwa Formation encountered on the Prophet River and Trutch lands and that being explored and developed in the Horn River Basin. There is also no fundamental geological difference in the Triassic Halfway and Montney Formations been pursued by our neighbors and throughout the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin";
- President and CEO Dave McMillan comments on the Company and market conditions.
Since restructuring the Company in mid June 2008, Canada Gas has continued to apply considerable efforts to move forward on several fronts. The Company has always maintained an open relationship with its project partners, while defending shareholder interests and working to maximize shareholder value. Management has also pursued initiatives it believes are equally in the best interest of the Partners shareholders, given feedback received from all participants of the Prophet River and Trutch projects.
Canada Gas is of the opinion that at this point in time insufficient data exists to determine the potential reserves that might exist in this Mississippian Shunda zone, the estimated drainage area that would be used for a single vertical well, and the economics of this zone. The Company has subsequently revised its January 31, 2008 reserves report to reflect this conclusion, and as a result, eliminated its share of total annual proven and non-producing reserve from 2,469 MMCF to nil. Based on the new information, the Company completed an impairment test in order to assess the recoverable value of the oil and gas interests which resulted in a total impairment of $8,736,588 on all projects for the year ended January 31, 2008. (Refer to the Company's January 31, 2008 audited financial statements and MDA for additional information on these financial adjustments).
The Company continues to pursue effective strategies for the exploration and development of the Prophet River and Trutch projects. Canada Gas continues to approach its Prophet River partners with proposals to move the Companies forward.
Management believes time is of the essence in this regard, for the Company and its shareholders, and does not accept the status quo of continuing delays. According to the Prophet River Participation Agreement with Tenaka Drilling Consortium Ltd., Canada Gas retains the right to call for operations on the project and appoint itself as Operator, just as the other participants have that right under the agreement. The Company's objective is to resume exploration and development on the property as soon as fiscally and logistically possible, with or without the participation of the project's partners.
To this end, Canada Gas has engaged the technical expertise of Sproule Associates Ltd. ("Sproule") a well known, respected, and reliable Calgary, Alberta based oil and gas consulting company to prepare an exploration and development review of the Company's assets, starting with Prophet River. Sproule is now in possession of the d-60-E/94-G-15 well file, has uploaded the Prophet River 3-D seismic data and their evaluation is underway. At the request of the Company, Sproule will review the Prophet River lands for the primary objectives of the Devonian Slave Point, Mississippian Shunda, Triassic Halfway, and any prospective unconventional hydrocarbon bearing formations through existing well data, including the d-60-E well, 3-D seismic data and any regional exploration and development data pertaining to these resources. Given the recent success in the application of multi-stage vertical fracturing solutions to various formations, the Company believes an unconventional review of the data obtained from past work is also warranted. The Company will be kept abreast of Sproule's findings as they occur, and upon conclusion of the review, will be provided interpreted seismic based structure and amplitude maps for up to 8 major seismic events, including the events for the formations listed above and a letter report with their findings, conclusions and recommendations for Prophet River. Sproule's review will assist in preparing a full production test on the d-60-E/94-G-15 well, a final determination of an earning well location for the Prophet River 'B' lands, and plotting additional exploration and development targets and locations, if warranted. Sproule anticipates this initial review will be completed late August 2008.
Also at Prophet River, Canada Gas and its project partners had assigned a 3rd party independent auditor to review the d-60-E/94-G-15 well operations, which was approximately 100%+ over budget, equaling approximately $17 million dollars. Such expenditures equally contributed to financial challenges facing the Company in adequately testing the Mississippian Shunda and Triassic Halfway targets. This audit has suggested the Operator and subcontractors could be responsible for nearly CAD $2.2 million in miscoded and/or unauthorized expenditures. The Company is in ongoing discussion with the d-60-E Operator to achieve a resolution satisfactory to all parties.
At Trutch, the Company anticipates a September meeting with Enerplus Resources Fund Ltd. regarding winter development plans. (Enerplus recently acquired Focus Energy Trust Ltd.) According to the Trutch Operating agreement, Enerplus must call for a minimum of one, maximum three Halfway development wells, with more subject to all parties' approval. Recent regional developments, discussed below, have the potential to positively impact the performance of the producing Triassic Halfway Formation on the property and the Company looks forward to discussing this potential with Enerplus ahead of the 2008/2009 winter development program. The Company is currently producing from four Triassic Halfway wells on the property.
Also at Trutch, the Company has recently received an offer from Northern Hemisphere Developments Corp. to purchase all of Canada Gas' Trutch assets. Canada Gas has respectfully declined the offer as it does not meet with the Company's strategic plans.
The Company is also pursuing the novation of its earned assets. This procedure, although largely a formality, will ensure the Company has a direct relationship with the Trutch project Operator, Enerplus Resources Fund Ltd., and ensure the Company receives its production revenues directly. For the record, Canada Gas has been reconciling all Trutch production accounting on behalf of Tenaka Drilling Consortium Ltd., Flying A Petroleum Ltd. and Bighorn Petroleum Ltd. to date.
In addition, since early 2008, several factors have influenced interest activity in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), Northeastern British Columbia, Canada, which lie within the Company's assets. In addition to strong natural gas pricing and adjustments to Alberta's oil and gas royalty regime, the announcement of results from the application of an unconventional horizontal well multi-stage vertical fracturing technique has substantially increased industry interest in the Triassic Montney Siltstone and Devonian Muskwa Shale Formations. There is also strong indication this technique may be effectively applied to other traditionally conventional prospects. As previously mentioned, the Company has equally engaged Sproule's unconventional division for an assessment of this potential. After an initial review of the well logs for the abandoned Bougie Trutch b-62-D/94-G-15 Shell et al Slave Point Exploratory well (Total Depth +3000m), the shallow Halfway wells at Trutch, and the d-60-E/94-G-14 Slave Point Exploratory Well at Prophet River (Total Depth +3000m), the Company has identified additional prospects on those properties in addition to the Triassic Halfway, Mississippian Shunda, and Devonian Slave Point targets, including the Cretaceous Buckinghorse Shale, Triassic Montney and Debolt, Devonian Muskwa and Ft. Simpson Formations. As discussed, the Company is preparing a more comprehensive analysis of these prospects, many of which appeared gas charged while drilling. The Slave
Point Formation was the primary target of the b-62-D and d-60-E wells, drilled in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Each encountered approximately 300 meters of the Triassic Montney Formation and approximately 300 meters of the Devonian Ft.Simpson/Muskwa Formations. Until these recent announcements and subsequent industry interest in 2008, the Company had not considered the unconventional prospectivity of its assets. The d-62-B well was abandoned by the Operator. The d-60-E well is currently shut-in. Both wells can be re-entered.
Many analyses on the prospects of unconventional exploration and development in British Columbia have been published by the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Canadian Discovery Ltd., Tristone Capital Inc., Canaccord Adams, RBC, BMO, and FirstEnergy Capital Corp., among others. It is important to note these research reports have not involved any specific analysis or reference to the Company's assets. The Company continues to build a file on the subject.
Several features emerge through their research:
- The application of multi-stage fracture stimulation of horizontal wells continues to evolve, but robust rates of return have been demonstrated in its application, in some cases exceeding 50%[1].
- Alberta Clipper has also indicated gross Montney OGIP of 500 Bcf across their 33 sections of Trutch lands and will be drilling Montney horizontal wells H2/08.[2]
- Estimates of the Triassic Montney OGIP in British Columbia varies from 8 to 60 Billion Cubic Feet per section.[3]
- Estimates of the Devonian Muskwa Formation OGIP in British Columbia varies from 2 to 28 Bcf per section over 30 meters thick.[4]
- Estimates of the Devonian Ft. Simpson OGIP in British Columbia of 12 to 370 Bcf per section over 200 meters thick.[5]
As a result of this increased interest, British Columbia has witnessed record crown land sales in 2008, reaching prices as high as $33,500 per hectare, or $6.5 million dollars per section for these prospective unconventional lands in the July 16th, 2008 BC landsale. Also notable, Royal Dutch Shell Ltd. announced a $5.9 Billion takeover offer on July 14th, 2008, for Duvernay Oil Corporation.
Canada Gas has been paying close attention to these developments as the interest in these Formations is high and previously unconsidered by the company. The Company has been reviewing all available regional data including all well data. The Company offers the following prospective assessment: In June, the Company's adjoining neighbor to the south of Trutch, Alberta Clipper Energy Inc. described their prospective resource estimate on gross sections Montney OGIP as 500 Bcf. In addition, they described applying the horizontal well multi-stage vertical fracturing technology to the Triassic Halfway Formation. Canada Gas currently has seven wells which have encountered the Halfway. Four of these wells are currently producing (c-36-A/94-G-15, c-25-A/94-G-15, b-56-A/94-G-15 and a-38-A/94-G-15), one well is shut-in (a-13-B/94-G-15), one well is suspended pending further work (b-086-A/94-G-15), and the d-60-E/94-G-15 well, as previously announced, has encountered 24 meters of prospective Triassic Halfway Sandstone at Prophet River. The application of this enhanced completion method suggested to potentially improve production performance and recovery rates is certainly of interest to Canada Gas. In addition, Clipper's recent disclosure on the Montney is also encouraging. As Canaccord Adams notes in their analysis entitled "The Full Montney," dated June 23, 2008, "Companies with larger landholdings, existing infrastructure and production are competitively better positioned to maximize returns than are newer entrants... Moreover, companies that have already executed drilling programs on their acreage (which Canada Gas has achieved) - even if the drilling is oriented to other targets - would have a better understanding of the geological potential than newer entrants."
Thom Bainbridge, B.App.Sc, P.Geol, the Company's consulting petroleum geologist and qualified person in accordance with national instrument 51-101 standards with nearly 40 years experience in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, remarks:
"These developments in the WCSB with a specific focus on the Montney and Ft.Simpson/Muskwa Formations, in addition to our neighbors' interests in employing horizontal multi-stage vertical fracturing techniques to the Triassic Halfway Formation bode well for the potential of the Prophet River and Trutch projects. While depth of burial remains a consideration, there is fundamentally no geological difference between the Ft.Simpson/Muskwa Formation encountered on the Prophet River and Trutch lands and that being explored and developed in the Horn River Basin. There is also no fundamental geological difference in the Triassic Halfway and Montney Formations been pursued by our neighbors and throughout the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. These situations bode well for the Prophet River and Trutch-Bougie Areas as Prophet is a "Foothills" anticline and syncline relationship while Bougie-Trutch in a horst and graben environment and as such both areas should have enhanced permeability due to associated fracturing of the reservoirs identified."
It is important to note that although these Formations appear present on the Company's lands, there can be no conclusion that these Formations will contain economic quantities of recoverable reserves. Further analysis will be completed on these Formations and more information will be provided when available.Canada Gas is encouraged by the opportunity to add the Buckinghorse, Montney, and Muskwa unconventional targets to the conventional Devonian, Mississippian, Triassic targets on the Prophet River and Trutch assets. Once the Prophet River project review is complete, the Company has asked Sproule to assess similar characteristics and opportunities at Trutch.
Since August 2007, the Company has been under considerable sustained market pressure. This pressure has been a function of both macro and micro factors, within and outside of the Company's control. The junior resource sector in general has been depressed, and the Company is not alone in the selling pressure it has experienced. Dave McMillan, President and CEO, comments on the situation:
"We have drilled two deep wells that were expensive and due to drilling complications were significantly over budget. Further, the Operators advised these wells did not successfully encounter the primary target formation. Regardless, Management and I believe there is tremendous opportunity in these lands. I have continued to support the Company by subscribing for private placements at all levels both before and since the slide in the Company's share price. Management believes that the low market valuation of Canada Gas is a consequence of significant selling pressure, and does not accurately reflect the true potential of the Company's assets and strategic alternatives. We have described many promising and dynamic elements in this news release. The Company does invite and welcome positive and progressive contributions from all and will continue to aggressively pursue opportunities of wealth creation for shareholders, the marketplace and industry. The Company is actively seeking promising alternatives to enhance shareholder value, including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and the addition of strong technical management. Please be advised that this update is being presented as a strategic guide for shareholders, and there is no guarantee that in the course of business the suggested outcomes will occur as described. The Company's operations are fluid, and strategic initiatives flexible. Please review the forward looking statements at the bottom of this release if you are unfamiliar with the conditions influencing public companies."
About Canada Rare Earths
Canada Rare Earths is a growth company focused on the exploration and development of rare earth elements at its 100% owned Goeland Rare Earths Project within the Montviel carbonatite complex, Montviel Township Quebec, immediately adjacent to Geomega's (TSX-V: GMA) recent rare earth discovery. The Goeland property located 215 km north of Val-d'Or, is road accessible and consists of 47 claims totaling approximately 2,600 hectares. Since the acquisition of the Goeland Project, the Company, in a short period of time, has successfully established itself in one of the largest Carbonatite complexes in North America. Worldwide, carbonatite-related deposits are a major host for rare earths elements ("REE"). The world's most advanced and prolific REE deposits in production or development, Bayan Obo (China), Molycorp's Mountain Pass (USA), Lynas's Mount Weld (Aus), and Rare Earth Element Resource's Bear Lodge project, are all hosted by carbonatites.
For more information on Canada Rare Earths, please contact our Head Office.
On Behalf of the Board of Canada Rare Earths Inc.
Chad McMillan
President & CEO
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. All of the above is subject to TSX.V and regulatory acceptance.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosure in this release, including statements regarding the Company's Pre-Development Agreement and the exploration of the Goeland Project, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company is able to obtain any required government or other regulatory approvals and any required financing to complete the Company's obligations pursuant to the Pre-Development Agreement and planned exploration activities, that the Company is able to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis and that actual results of exploration activities are consistent with management's expectations. However, the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Canada Rare Earth's operation as a mineral exploration company that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and risks may include, among others, actual results of the Company's exploration activities being different than those expected by management, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests, delays in obtaining required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, inability to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, equipment breakdowns and bad weather. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Canada Rare Earths does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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