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  Portal Resources Ltd. has signed an agreement giving it the right to participate as to a 22% interest in a Joint Venture (JV) to acquire and exploit oil and gas exploration prospects in central Alberta.
Western Canada's Rapidly Emerging Unconventional Oil Play
The Company is targeting unconventional oil and gas resource assets based on the enormous success of Alberta's Pembina Cardium shale play, where consistently positive drilling results using horizontal multi-stage fracture completions and strong economics indicate the potential to match other light oil resource trends including the Bakken and Lower Shaunavon plays in Saskatchewan.
Bigwave JV
Portal is building up a land position of prospective unconventional oil resources in some of Western Canada's largest oil and gas producing regions where large shale formations have been bypassed due to insufficient permeability necessary to achieve economic production using vertical drilling methods. Based on the success of horizontal drilling with multi-stage fracs in the revitalization of Western Canada's mature oilfields, such as Alberta's Pembina Cardium and Saskatchewan's Bakken formation, the Company has entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with Calgary-based Bigwave Exploration Inc. ("Bigwave JV") in 2008, to participate for a 22% interest, in the exploration and development of a 10,720 acre land package prospective for long-life resources of light oil and natural gas. The JV has also identified an area of special interest 216 square miles in size.
The Pembina Cardium is the largest conventional oil field in Canada with an estimated 10 billion barrels ("Bbbl") of original oil in place ("OOIP"). Located in west central Alberta, the Pembina Cardium has produced over 1.5 Bbbl ( representing a recovery rate of approximately 15% of OOIP ) and over 12 trillion cubic feet ("TCF") of gas, since its initial discovery in 1953. The application of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracs in 2008 has enabled the exploitation of tighter, previously non-producing areas surrounding the main Pembina Cardium. Initial production rates are averaging 225 barrels of oil equivalent ("boe") per day to 250 boe per day, declining to 100 boe per day after one year. Strong economics, including expected Rates of Return of +50% at current oil prices in the US$60/bbl to US$70/bbl range, are being reported by operators. Production is projected to reach 85,000-120-000 bbl/d in five years using horizontal drilling with multi-stage fracs (Macquarie Equities Research, December 2009).
From 1999 to 2009, Bigwave undertook an extensive study of the geochemical, geological and structural characteristics of certain formations within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin using historic log, core, 3D seismic and engineering data. Based on a proprietary model of optimal reservoir characteristics, Bigwave began acquiring land with geological parallels to known producing unconventional oil plays in west central Alberta and south eastern Saskatchewan. On October 6, 2009, the Company announced the completion of drilling of its first horizontal well in Alberta, targeting oil source sand and shale formations of the Colorado Group. Total drilling time was 17 days, with a gross cost of approximately CAD$1.2 million to drill and case. In February 2010, the Company announced completion of an engineering evaluation of hydraulic fracture stimulation techniques to be applied to the well which is scheduled for completion by the end of first quarter of 2010, at an estimated gross cost of approximately CAD$350,000 - $500,000. If successful an additional 44 drill locations exist on this large land position which provides the Company tremendous discovery leverage.
The Company believes land acquisition and drilling risk have been significantly reduced through Bigwave's ten year region-wide study. Reservoir characteristics such as porosity and permeability of the organic rich shales underlying the Bigwave JV property, along with the over-pressured nature of the formations, are believed to be instrumental for overall economic development. Bigwave JV lands are well connected to pipeline infrastructure fairways offering takeaway capacity. The lands are also situated along major all weather roads with year round access.
Manito JV
On March 9, 2009, the Company signed the Manito Joint Venture Agreement ("Manito JV") with Bigwave Exploration Inc., to participate for a 33.3% interest in the exploration, exploitation and production of light oil and natural gas resources in Central Alberta. With one square mile of land acquired to date, the Manito JV represents the successful continuation of Portal's business plan to acquire high impact light oil resource play assets.
The first prospect acquired is a source oil sand - shale sequence with several potential reservoirs (Bakken Formation type play). The prospect has evolved from careful research over a ten year period of an overlooked or "by-passed" extensive "blanket sand" formation with good porosity and projected fracture enhanced permeability related to a structural unconformity high.
Please refer to News Release "Portal Enters Oil And Gas Joint Venture" Tue Apr 14, 2009
The Company is in steps to "Frac" the well to test its productive capacity.
Fracing is a system proven to enhance productive capacity in many lower porosity hydrocarbon bearing formations in the US and Canada by injecting sand into the fractures of the rock created with intense/sudden gas or fluid pressurization. Bigwave is now reviewing the Frac parameters and will report to the JV partners in the coming weeks.
Additionally the JV will begin a methodical mapping process to help define other oil and gas reservoirs that are known to exist within the controlled land package.
Portal has set up an Oil+Gas Advisory Board which includes Gary Nordin and our advisor in Calgary, Peter Boyle.
The Company has engaged a technical team that has identified a series of low risk oil and gas prospects situated in Alberta and Saskatchewan (as per News Jan.12/2010). These prospects are adjacent to, and potentially extend, proven producing properties and are available through one or more of the following sources: Freehold Leases, purchase from other resource companies and the posting of currently available lands for Crown Auction Sale.
The acquisition of these prospects will present Portal with the opportunity to self-develop the portfolio or bring in partners and use recently developed horizontal drilling and completion techniques being utilized to develop numerous other fields in North America.
The Bigwave Prospect continues to develop on a positive note with the completion of the detailed engineering necessary to Frac the recently drilled horizontal well (see Portal Press Release 09-11 dated October 6, 2009; Portal Completes Oil Drilling in Alberta). The JV Partners, having reviewed these data, are optimistic as to the presence of producible hydrocarbons.
The Joint Venture operating company Bigwave Exploration Inc. has completed its reorganization from a limited liability partnership to a private corporation and is now actively pursuing the completion of the well. Portal expects to have this well completed by the end of the first quarter 2010.
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