Westgate Energy Inc. ("Westgate" or the "Company"), a high-growth junior exploration and production company targeting untapped Mannville Stack medium and heavy oil resources in East-Central Alberta and West Central Saskatchewan, announces the commencement of the initial portion of its second half 2024 ("2H/24") drilling campaign. This summer program (the "Program") will consist of two horizontal multi-lateral oil wells at the Company's core Killam property in Eastern Alberta. This marks the first stage of the Company's 2H/24 drilling plans, which are aimed at significantly boosting the Company's production and reserves.
The Program's first well will feature a four-leg, open-hole horizontal design targeting the Mannville Sparky Formation. This well will directly offset the Company's last well drilled in December of 2023 and will be drilled off the same pad and feature an on-lease tie-in for solution gas. The Program's second well is planned as a six-leg, open-hole horizontal well also targeting the Mannville Sparky Formation, and will be drilled off of a new pad within Westgate's Killam Field. The new pad is designed to accommodate two additional follow-on wells, predicated on successful results from the Program's second well.
Success from the two-well Program will contribute to the Company's previously communicated average 2H/24 production range of 350 to 400 boe/d1. The first well is anticipated to take 14 days to drill, after which the drilling rig will be moved to the second location for a subsequent 14-day drill. Completion, equipping, and tie-in of each well will follow shortly thereafter. The Company expects to provide initial production results in September 2024, after 'clean-up' or recovery of the drilling fluid from the two wells has been achieved.
Westgate's CEO, Dan Brown commented, "We are excited to initiate the two-well Program and look forward to sharing its results in the coming weeks. This marks a significant step forward in our strategy to unlock the potential of our Killam assets using advanced drilling techniques."
Westgate's Differentiated Strategy
Westgate is focused on the emerging Mannville Stack fairway located in East-Central Alberta and West Central Saskatchewan. This fairway is characterized by known accumulations of medium and heavy oil which are being 'unlocked' via the application of innovative drilling techniques that utilize multi-lateral horizontal drilling. Applying these multi-lateral drilling techniques has yielded some of the strongest oil well economics across Western Canada.
The management team and board of Westgate have extensive experience building and leading successful energy companies in Canada. The collective successes of the leadership group share common characteristics: a strategy of targeting high-quality oil assets with large quantities of oil-in-place, and driving growth through successful drilling as well as strategic merger and acquisition opportunities. This proven blueprint of delivering shareholder value will be foundational to Westgate's strategy, positioning the Company as one of a select few pure-play, high-growth, publicly-traded junior oil companies focused on the Mannville Stack fairway.