Amex: BQI
CALGARY, March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Oilsands Quest Inc. (AMEX:BQI) announces that its Form 10-Q Quarterly Report for the period ended January 31, 2008 was filed Friday, March 14, 2008 (available at http://www.sec.gov/ and http://www.sedar.com/). The company also provides an update of the status of winter field operations on its contiguous oil sands exploration lands in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Drilling program (September 14, 2007 - March 16, 2008) Type of drilling Saskatchewan Alberta Total
Exploration holes 38 25 63
Delineation holes 87 - 87
Environmental wells 16 - 16
Reservoir test wells 2 - 2
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Totals 143 25 168 To date, in the first drilling program on the Alberta side of its contiguous land holdings, Oilsands Quest has drilled 25 exploration holes, 18 of which have encountered meaningful intercepts of bitumen-bearing McMurray formation. Reservoir characteristics, including bitumen saturations, porosities and permeabilities, from the winter drilling program in both Alberta and Saskatchewan will be determined following third-party core and laboratory analysis, which normally takes several months to complete.
Seismic programs Oilsands Quest has now completed field work on the major 3-D and 2-D seismic programs conducted this winter on its permit lands in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The company is using seismic survey data as one of the key tools to further define geological structure and reservoir characteristics within the Axe Lake Discovery area and to identify exploration targets.
With the arrival of spring and the warming weather conditions, winter field operations are beginning to wind down. Following the conclusion of the winter field operations, Oilsands Quest plans to provide a more comprehensive review of the winter program.
Reservoir field test activities Drilling of thermally completed, injection and observation wells for the reservoir field test program in the Axe Lake Discovery area is progressing and will continue as long as weather conditions allow. At March 16, 2008, two wells for the test program had been drilled and completed, and a third well was being drilled. Approximately 18 vertical wells are expected to be drilled on three test sites. A specialized heavy-duty, truck-mounted drilling rig was contracted for drilling the test wells. Drilling of these wells is planned to resume after spring breakup.
The reservoir test program is currently underway with drilling, coring, logging and well completion activities. Initial steam injection into the reservoir is expected to commence in the summer of 2008 upon completion of construction of the facilities, which has also begun. In preparation for these tests, advanced laboratory testing and production simulation studies utilizing the drilling, coring and logging data obtained from this winter's operations, including the reservoir test drilling program, will commence immediately. This program is intended to contribute to the data required to determine the optimal in-situ process or processes that may be used to produce from the Axe Lake Discovery.
About Oilsands Quest Oilsands Quest Inc. is aggressively exploring Canada's largest holding of contiguous oil sands permits and licences, located in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and developing Saskatchewan's first global-scale oil sands discovery. It is leading the establishment of the province of Saskatchewan's emerging oil sands industry.
Forward-looking information Except for statements of historical fact relating to Oilsands Quest, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "potential", "prospective" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "will", or "could" occur. Forward-looking statements such as references to Oilsands Quest's exploration, technical and development programs are based on the opinions and estimates of management and Oilsands Quest's independent evaluators at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, exploration and technical risks inherent in the oil sands industry, regulatory and economic risks, lack of infrastructure in the region in which the company's resources are located and risks associated with Oilsands Quest's ability to implement its business plan. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond Oilsands Quest's control, and no assurance can be given that the programs will be completed on time, on budget or at all. Oilsands Quest undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties set forth above are not exhaustive. Readers should refer to Oilsands Quest's current annual report on Form 10-KSB and other document filings, which are available at http://www.sedar.com/ and at http://www.sec.gov/ for a detailed discussion of these risks and uncertainties and details regarding the location and extent of Oilsands Quest's land holdings. DATASOURCE: Oilsands Quest Inc.
CONTACT: General inquiries and retail investors, contact Hedlin Lauder Investor Relations Ltd., Toll Free 1-800-299-7823, Office (403) 232-6251, Email ; Institutional investors, contact BarnesMcInerney Inc., Toll Free 1-866-794-7288, Office (416) 371-0510, Email
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