Exploration & Processing - Winter 2011 - (Page 55)

BY BRIAN SALGADO SUNSHINE OILSANDS LTD. F SUNSHINE OILSANDS LTD.’S EXECUTIVE TEAM KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO SUCCESSFULLY EXPLORE MORE THAN 1 MILLION ACRES OF ALBERTA’S OIL SANDS. THE SUNNY SIDE or junior oil companies with claims in the Alberta oil sands, only two things matter at the end of the day: delivering when you say you will and maintaining operational momentum. With the vast amount of experience shared between executives of Sunshine Oilsands Ltd., coming through on those two objectives is never in doubt. “We’re a group of professionals with a lot of experience who have a great reputation to be able to execute,” Co-CEO John Kowal says. “In the oil sands, it’s the company that makes the fewest mistakes that wins. That translates into being on time and on budget.” Sunshine Oilsands came to be in February 2007 when a few oil and gas executives began accumulating land within Alberta’s oil sands region. In a short period of time, the company acquired more than 1 million acres of land, and thus far has fully delineated or assessed 110,000 acres while partially assessing or delineating the rest. So far, Sunshine Oilsands’ resource reports indicates there are 43.8 billion barrels of petroleum in place. The best-case estimate of contingent recoverable barrels is 2.2 billion, and 70 million barrels of proven, probable and possible reserves. The Breakdown Sunshine Oilsands boasts three asset groupings – conventional heavy oil, cretaceous sandstone and the carbonates. For its conventional heavy oil, Kowal says the company is ramping up production at its Muskwa property, which started producing on Sept. 30. At print time, Muskwa had five wells drilled and a pad in place, and the company has received its heavy oil development permit for the play. As an emerging exploration firm with production capabilities already in place, Kowal says Sunshine Oilsands has an advantage over its competition. “With Muskwa already producing, it makes us quite unique,” Kowal says. “The production and the associated cash flow makes us a rarity because that provides sustainability at this early stage.” The production at Muskwa will help finance the development of the cretaceous sandstone project areas, which will use steam assisted gravity drainage to extract the bitumen. West Ells – part of the Ells area – is the first project to be developed, according to Kowal. The company applied for a 10,000-barrel-per-day development permit WINTER 2011 Sunshine Oilsands boasts more than 1 million acres of land in Alberta’s oil sands region. Since its executive team began acquiring land in February 2011, the company has assessed or delineated 110,000 acres while partially assessing or delineating the remaining acreage. COMPANY PROFILE Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. www.sunshineoilsands.com 2010 market capital: $589.5 million HQ: Calgary Employees: 48 Specialty: Oil sands exploration John Kowal, co-CEO: “In the oil sands, it’s the company that makes the fewest mistakes that wins.” EXPLORATION-PROCESSING.COM | 55 http://www.EXPLORATION-PROCESSING.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Exploration & Processing - Winter 2011

Exploration & Processing - Winter 2011
Contents
Redefining Refining
Synfuels Success
A Natural Solution
After the Fallout
Uranium on the Rise
Galleon Energy Inc.
Gibraltar Mines Ltd.
The Municipal Group of Companies
Selwyn Resources Ltd.
Redmond Minerals Inc.
Copper Fox Metals
Henry Resources
OFM Pump Inc.
Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.
Pacific Rubiales Energy Co.
Thermo Design Engineering
Alexco Resource Corp.
North American Palladium
Mammoet Canada Eastern Ltd.
KSM Inc.
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Ltd.
Flexpipe Systems
Guyana Goldfields Inc.
Flotek Industries Inc.
Dominion Terminal Associates
Compressor and Engine Service LLC
BEHR Energy Services Ltd.
LoneStar Energy Fabrication
American Oil & Gas – The Goliath Project
Alberta Oilsands Inc.
Southern Petroleum Laboratories Inc.
Cochrane Technologies Inc.
Crystal Flash Energy
Energold Drilling Corp.
Esperanza Resources Corp.
Explorator Resources Inc.
Rush Sales Co.
Kimber Resources Inc.
Nelson Bros. Oilfield (1997) Services Ltd.
Gulf Copper and Manufacturing
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Exploration & Processing - Winter 2011