VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Feb. 9, 2016) – Saturn Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SMI)(FRANKFURT:SMK) (“Saturn” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has made a new oil discovery in three separate potential pay zones at its 100% owned 9A-5-44-8W2 well (“9A-5”) on its Bannock Creek project located near the town of Hudson Bay in northeast Saskatchewan. The discovery has been made in conjunction with technical teams from North Rim Exploration Ltd. and Axiom Exploration Ltd., both of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
As previously announced, drilling of the 9A-5 well had commenced on January 7th and had reached a total depth of 583 meters before technical difficulties related to wellbore stability and lost circulation were encountered. In consultation with its technical team, the Company elected to redesign the casing configuration and drill process. The second well was spudded on January 29th and reached a target depth of 740 meters in 8 days without incident, including 1.5 days to core and log. A total of 27 meters of core was cut with full recovery through all target zones.
Saturn is very pleased to announce that within the target Herald and Yeoman formations, three separate intercepts displayed pronounced and uniform oil staining and fluorescence under black light. These intercepts were subsequently cross-referenced to match down-hole resistivity logs and porosity logs greater than 12%. The discovery was made in three separate formations: the Herald, the Upper Yeoman and the Lower Yeoman for a cumulative potential reservoir thickness of 8 meters. The presence of these stacked pay zones supports the Company’s exploration model of a stacked target, 4-way closed anticlinal potential oil reservoir.
Drill core has been sent to Core Labs of Estevan, Saskatchewan where a full analysis of the discovery, including permeability, porosity, oil saturation and API, will determine a comprehensive completions program. Results are expected by mid-February following which the Company will announce a completions plan that will include test production and an additional well site to further assess the 480-acre anticlinal target which was the focus of this drill program. This additional well will aid the Company in evaluating future vertical and/or horizontal wells in order to maximize the exploitation of known reservoirs, as well as to further assess additional undrilled targets on the 120,000 acre Bannock Creek project.
“This discovery is a true historical milestone for northeastern Saskatchewan,” said Stan Szary, CEO of Saturn Minerals Inc. “The Northeastern Williston Basin is a wildcat driller’s paradise, and we’ve shown that with the discovery of oil in the very first well that has successfully penetrated beyond 650 meters in this vicinity. I’m very proud of our team and believe that this is the start of a very significant update to the entire geological map of this part of the province.”
Saturn identified the well location from a 2D seismic program, which was designed to identify and confirm closures for potential light oil traps. The closure of this structure compared very favourably with existing producing light oil pools to the south of the Bannock Creek project and provided validation of Saturn’s exploration model.
About Saturn Minerals Inc.
Saturn Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SMI)(FRANKFURT:SMK) is a junior Canadian energy company advancing a portfolio of oil and coal properties in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Company owns 376,800 acres of exclusive oil & gas rights in Saskatchewan and is advancing a number of oil exploration projects. Saturn has also made three shallow bituminous coal discoveries since 2009 with coal seams ranging in continuous vertical thickness from 9 to 89 meters. Saturn has a strategic ownership in Inowending Exploration & Development Corp., a First Nations owned exploration and development company co-founded by Saturn with a consortium of Saskatchewan First Nations active in Canada’s prairie provinces.