Business
Connacher Oil and Gas Limited provides operational update
Connacher Oil and Gas Limited provides operational update
About this update from Medexus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nSep. 28, 2009 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- CALGARY, Sept. 28 /CNW/ -- Connacher Oil and Gas Limited (CLL - TSX) announced today that it has successfully completed its annual turnaround at its 10,000 barrel per day (\"bbl/d\") Great Divide Pod One (\"Pod One\") steam assisted gravity drainage (\"SAGD\") oil sands plant in northeastern Alberta. The company is in the process of restoring normal operations and again ramping up its bitumen production, which had exceeded 8,000 bbl/d prior to the turnaround. The Pod One plant, steam generation and injection, wells and production were down for a period of four days during the turnaround. All vessels and treater systems were inspected and cleaned out and routine maintenance was conducted. The company also took the opportunity during the turnaround to conduct a number of SAGD well workovers. This work included the installation of one additional electric submersible pump (\"ESP\") and workovers on five wells in the north pad, all part of the company's optimization program aimed at reducing steam:oil ratios (SORs), maximizing steam injection to specific wells and the location of steam in the wellbore, while increasing production in the affected wells. The company now has ESPs in six SAGD wells.Production is now underway at 15 of the 17 SAGD well pairs at Pod One, including production from the company's two most recent SAGD wells, which were converted from steam injection in July of this year and which are still in the early stages of their ramp-up. It takes several days after reactivation to achieve targeted production levels from all wells and once steady state production operations have been achieved, we will report an update on bitumen production at Pod One.The company anticipates installing two to three new generation high temperature ESPs later this year which should result in longer pump run lives while allowing higher production volumes and reduced SORs. The high temperature ESPs represent an evolution of ESP technology that has better applicability to Connacher's reservoir. Connacher is pleased to announce that it will be among the first oil sands producing companies to use these new ESPs in commercial operations. It is anticipated bitumen production levels will ramp up to near-design capacity in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 2010 daily average bitumen production is anticipat...