CALGARY, July 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Acceleware Ltd. (TSX-V:AXE)
("Acceleware" or "the Company") announced today that
it has entered into a commercial test agreement (the
"Agreement") with Prosper Petroleum Ltd. ("Prosper")
to perform a commercial-scale test (the "Test") of
Acceleware's RF XL radio frequency heating technology. The Test
will commence immediately at Prosper's Rigel property in northeast
Alberta, where Prosper is
developing a project in the Athabasca Oil Sands.
Acceleware completed a multi-faceted partner selection process
in which several major, mid-size and smaller operator candidates
were assessed. Prosper's sound technical capability, excellent
operational experience and an optimal test reservoir in
Alberta's most widely-produced oil
sands resulted in a high ranking across numerous selection
criteria. In addition, several logistical factors supported a quick
deployment at Rigel: the recent approval by the Alberta Energy
Regulator for the development of a new SAGD facility on the Rigel
leases which Prosper plans to complete as soon as possible; and
Prosper's existing surface infrastructure. The review and partner
selection process were undertaken with input from the Acceleware
Advisory Board.
"Given how critical and pressing economic and environmental
factors have become to the ongoing development of Canadian oil
sands and heavy oil, partnering with a company that offers
experience and agility combined with a resource that can
demonstrate the massive potential reach of the RF XL innovation is
key to us. Prosper brings all of these and an impeccable reputation
in a wide range of heavy oil and oil sands environments," said
Geoff Clark, CEO of Acceleware. "We
are very excited to move forward with them on this project."
Under the terms of the Agreement, Prosper will provide
Acceleware with access to specific Rigel leases, engineering and
geological support and services, and assistance with obtaining
regulatory approvals. In exchange, Acceleware will grant Prosper
the right to purchase RF XL systems at a preferential rate for use
on Prosper lands for a period of twenty years following the
completion of the Test. Acceleware will also receive the proceeds
from the sale of any bitumen produced during the Test. Subsequent
to the Test, Acceleware and Prosper may elect to continue operation
of the RF XL system to increase production from the well, sharing
equally in the proceeds of the sale of the bitumen, once all of
Acceleware's costs associated with the Test, plus 10 percent, have
been recovered.
"We're excited to work with Acceleware, as we believe that RF XL
could be a game changer," said Brad
Gardiner, Prosper's President and CEO. "Testing the
technology at Rigel is strategic for Prosper because a successful
deployment would allow us to transition quickly to a broader
commercial development at this site, and potentially help us
achieve our goal of 40,000 bbl/day of production with far lower
costs and environmental impact. Our planned cogeneration facility
could provide power for RF XL systems, we could eliminate the need
to source additional external water and we could leverage the
existing water treatment capacity of the SAGD facility within the
existing footprint."
Sustainable Development Technology Canada ("SDTC") and Emissions
Reduction Alberta ("ERA") have committed up to
$10 million in non-repayable funding
for the Test, as previously announced by Acceleware on November 3, 2017. The funding will become
available upon execution of contribution agreements with SDTC and
ERA, scheduled to be completed by July 31,
2018. With the support of Prosper, Acceleware will also
immediately begin raising remaining capital to further support the
test. Discussions with other potential consortium members for the
project are on-going, with the goal of generating additional
financial, technical and operating support.
Acceleware believes that the patented and patent-pending RF XL
technology has the potential to save billions of dollars in oil
sands production costs by reducing both capital and operating
costs, while offering major environmental benefits, including
immediate greenhouse gas ("GHG") emission reductions, a substantial
reduction in land use, no requirement for external water or
solvents and no tailings ponds. As an electrically driven process,
Acceleware also believes that RF XL technology can provide a clear
pathway to zero-GHG production of heavy oil and oil sands.
"Because of its expected economic and environmental benefits,
producers have been looking to harness RF energy as a means to
mobilize oil sands and heavy oil reservoirs for more than 50
years," said Mike Tourigny,
Acceleware's VP Commercialization RF Heating. "We believe we are on
the verge of realizing the full potential of this technology once
it is successfully deployed at Rigel".
The Test will build on Acceleware's 1/20th scale test
through deployment of a commercial-scale (1,000 meter) prototype RF
XL system at a depth of approximately 424 metres. Key operational
aspects of the technology will be tested, including efficiency and
oil production rates. The initial heating phase will run for six
months using a two-megawatt prototype generator developed with
Acceleware's partner, General Electric, using its proprietary
Silicon Carbide technology. Upon the completion of the initial
six-month heating phase, Acceleware and Prosper may elect to
continue the RF XL test.
While Rigel's leases in the Athabasca Oil Sands formation are
representative of a large number of reservoirs in Acceleware's RF
XL commercialization target market, the Company will seek
additional opportunities to validate the effectiveness of RF XL in
other reservoir types such as heavy oil deposits, shallow oil
sands, carbonates and thin-pay environments to open profitable
access to these significant deposits.
About Acceleware
Acceleware (www.acceleware.com) is an innovator of clean-tech
oil and gas technologies comprised of two business units: Radio
Frequency (RF) Enhanced Oil Recovery; and Seismic Imaging
Software and Software Acceleration Services.
Acceleware is developing RF XL and Modular RF, its patented and
patent-pending low-cost, low-carbon production technologies for
heavy oil and oil sands that are materially different from any
heavy oil recovery technique used today. They will use no water,
require no solvent, have a small physical footprint, can be
redeployed from site to site, and can be adapted to a multitude of
reservoir types, while expected to greatly reduce and eventually
eliminate production greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). In shallow
oil sands implementations, no tailings ponds will be required.
Our seismic imaging software solutions are state of the art for
high fidelity imaging, providing the most accurate and advanced
imaging available for oil exploration in complex geologies.
Acceleware's professional services team accelerates computationally
intense applications for clients to speed up product design,
analyze data and help them make better business
decisions.
Acceleware is a public company on Canada's TSX Venture Exchange under the
trading symbol "AXE".
About Sustainable Development Technology Canada
SDTC is a foundation created by the Government of Canada to support Canadian companies with the
potential to become world leaders, and to catalyze the advancement
of new technologies to address climate change and clean air, water,
and soil.
About Emissions Reduction Alberta
ERA works with industry, government and the innovation community
to invest in and advance the solutions Alberta needs to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and build a stronger, more diversified economy. To date,
ERA has committed to more than $385
million in funding to 129 projects with a total value of
over $2.6 billion.
About Prosper Petroleum
Prosper Petroleum is a private upstream oil and gas company
headquartered in Calgary Alberta. The company has land
holdings in Alberta and
Saskatchewan and is mainly focused
on heavy oil and oil sands. The company owns mineral rights
in both provinces in excess of 100,000 acres.
Prosper's flagship property is an oil sands lease located in the
Athabasca Oil Sands area. Prosper acquired the property in
2012 and has conducted two oil sands evaluation programs consisting
of stratigraphic wells and 3-D seismic. The results of these
programs have shown an oil-in-place volume of more than 500 MM
bbls.
This news release contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation.
Forward-looking information generally means information about an
issuer's business, capital, or operations that is prospective in
nature, and includes disclosure about the issuer's prospective
financial performance or financial position.
The forward-looking information in this press release can be
identified by terms such as "anticipates", "believes" "potential",
"would" and "will", and includes information about the obligations
of the parties under the Agreement, the expectations for future
intellectual property development and the commercial availability
of RF XL technology, as well as the anticipated benefits of that
technology, the ability to conclude agreements with funding
sources, and the likelihood of Acceleware raising additional
capital. Acceleware assumes that the current research and
development effort including the commercial-scale test plans will
result in commercial -ready products, that Acceleware will conclude
the necessary agreements, and that future capital raising efforts
will be successful.
Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information
in this press release due to certain material risk
factors. These risk factors are described in detail in Acceleware's
continuous disclosure documents, which are filed on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
Acceleware assumes no obligation to update or revise the
forward-looking information in this press release,
unless it is required to do so under Canadian securities
legislation.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in
this release in the United States.
The securities have not been and will not be registered under the
United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S.
Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be
offered or sold within the United
States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S.
Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption
from such registration is available.
Neither the 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.
SOURCE Acceleware Ltd.