Bourque

The Bourque project is located in the northwest portion of the Gaspé Property, 30 km east of Murdochville and 70 km west of the town of Gaspé. This property consists of four permits, 100% owned by Petrolia.

On August 5, 2008, Petrolia signed a $20 million farmout agreement with an oil company. This sum will be invested in exploration and development work for the Bourque Project. The terms of the agreement were set out in the press release issued by Petrolia on August 5, 2008. This agreement is of critical importance for Petrolia, not only in respect of the amounts invested but above all because it enables the exploration of a type of trap that has major potential for petroleum. The discovery of hydrocarbons in a Devonian reef would open the door to petroleum exploration in new areas of the Gaspé region. By joining forces with a partner to explore this property, Petrolia aims to share the risks associated with this type of investment, while at the same time benefiting from its partners’ expertise.

Work done

The first phase of the work, a three-dimensional (3-D) seismic survey over an area of 60 km2 was carried out during the summer of 2008. The survey will provide a three-dimensional image of this region that will delimit the limestone reefs in the West Point Formation and target potential hydrocarbon traps. The data acquired are being processed, and the preliminary results received to date are of very good quality. The interpretation of these new data will be performed in early 2009.

Projected work

The drilling of an approximately 3,000 –metres well, required for the evaluation of one of the targets, is scheduled for 2009.

Property description

During the Devonian, the present-day Gaspé region was a sea bottom located close to the equator, where there were environments favourable for the growth of reef complexes. The Devonian also saw the emplacement of the reef complexes of the western Canadian sedimentary basin. In 1947, the discovery of the giant Leduc oilfield, whose production has since exceeded 100 million barrels of petroleum, was a turning point for oil exploration in Alberta. Since that time, a number of major deposits have been discovered in these ancient reefs.

During the Devonian, the present-day Gaspé region was a sea bottom located close to the equator, where there were environments favourable for the growth of reef complexes. The Devonian also saw the emplacement of the reef complexes of the western Canadian sedimentary basin. In 1947, the discovery of the giant Leduc oilfield, whose production has since exceeded 100 million barrels of petroleum, was a turning point for oil exploration in Alberta. Since that time, a number of major deposits have been discovered in these ancient reefs.