Questerre Energy Corporation announced the results of the resource assessment of its Montney acreage in the Kakwa-Resthaven area. The best estimate by the Company's independent reserve engineers of Prospective Resources ("PR") is 100 million barrels of oil equivalent and of Economic Contingent Resources ("ECR") is 32 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Michael Binnion, President and Chief Executive Officer of Questerre, commented, "We are very pleased that the report puts a significant value on the dense resource we have captured in the Kakwa-Resthaven area over the last year. Economic Contingent Resources were assigned to just over 15% of our total acreage based on proximity to tested or producing Montney wells. We expect that as additional wells are drilled and tested on and adjacent to our lands, the majority of the prospective resources will be reclassified as economically contingent resources and ultimately reserves."
Conducted by McDaniel & Associates Consultants Ltd. ("McDaniel"), the report assessed the resources associated with the in place petroleum and natural gas on a portion of the Company's 28,800 net acres in the area. In specific, the assessment was conducted on 12,800 net acres or approximately 44% of the Company's total acreage in the area. No assessment was conducted of the Company's 16,000 net acres held in the Wapiti area, approximately 12 miles northwest of the Kakwa-Resthaven area.
The report estimates PR net to Questerre to range between a low of 291 Bcfe (49 MMboe) and a high of 774 Bcfe (129 MMboe) with a best estimate of 598 Bcfe (100 MMboe) that includes over 40% condensate.
In addition, ECR, attributed to only 15% of the Company's 28,800 net acres, have been assigned a best estimate of 190 Bcfe (32 MMboe) with a range from a low of 95 Bcfe (16 MMboe) to a high of 245 Bcfe (41 MMboe). Approximately 50% of this best estimate or 16 million barrels of oil equivalent are natural gas liquids with condensate accounting for over 83% of this amount. Using their April 2013 price forecast, McDaniel's best estimate of ECR has a net present value discounted at 10% before tax of $267 million.
The PR and ECR are in addition to the proved and probable reserves of 26 Bcfe (4 MMboe) as at December 31, 2012 with a net present value discounted at 10% before tax of $44 million.
The assessment of the resources by McDaniel includes Discovered and Undiscovered Petroleum Initially in Place ("PIIP"), Prospective Resources ("PR"), a subset of Undiscovered PIIP, and Economic Contingent Resources ("ECR"), a subset of Discovered PIIP. The evaluation was performed in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101") and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook ("COGE Handbook") and is effective April 1, 2013. See Reserve and Resource Definitions section of this press release.
The evaluation conducted by McDaniel included detailed geological and petrophysical analysis of Questerre and adjacent industry Montney wells. It focused on the Upper and Middle Montney intervals. McDaniel assumed a Montney development plan based on an average of eight wells per section (Four wells for each of the Upper and Middle Montney intervals). Total PIIP on average was estimated at approximately 60 Bcf per section with recovery factors estimated to range from 20% to 55% with a best estimate of approximately 40%.
The recoveries of natural gas liquids estimated by the resource assessment are based on the Company securing shallow cut processing capacity. Questerre is currently in negotiations to secure processing, transportation and fractionating capacity for its production in the area.
Contingent resources were assigned to the Company's acreage within a three mile radius of a tested or producing Montney well. There is no certainty that any portion of the prospective resources will be discovered. If discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources.