Black Pearl Resources is moving ahead with its Blackrod SAG-D project.
Projex has been granted an engineering design contract to prepare a study for the project just south of Fort McMurray.
The in-situ bitumen extraction facility will start at 20-thousand bpd.
It would later add two more phases of 30-thousand bpd, to end with an 80-thousand bpd facility.
Earlier in 2012 Australian company, WorleyParsons, was contracted for the front-end engineering and design study.
Black Pearl has been operating a pilot plant that reached commercial production rates of over 400 bpd in May.
It received regulatory approval to expand the existing pilot and is planning to drill the second horizontal well pair during the first quarter of 2013.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board approval is expected in 16-22 months and Phase 1 of the project is estimated to cost $800 million
It is expected that field construction will start in 2014 and 2015 and first steam in the ground will start in late 2015
January 2nd, 2013
