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.
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Mike Tourigny, Tel: +1 (403) 249-9099, mike.tourigny@acceleware.com; Acceleware Ltd., 435 10th Avenue SE, Calgary, AB, Canada T2G 0W3, Tel: +1 (403) 249-9099, www.acceleware.comCopyright CNW Group 2018
