OUR COMPANY
August 4 , 2009
UTS’ principal focus is the creation of shareholder value through the production of bitumen from the oil sands deposits associated with the leases related to the Fort Hill oils sands project (“Fort Hills Project”), the Frontier Project, the Equinox Project, and the Lease 421 Area, in addition to the potential development of the Company’s other exploration lands located in Alberta’s Athabasca Oil Sands Area.
UTS holds a 20% interest in the Fort Hills Project through its interests in Fort Hills Energy Corporation (“FHEC”) and the Fort Hills Energy Limited Partnership (“Fort Hills Partnership”). The other Fort Hills Partners are Petro-Canada with a 60% interest and Teck Cominco Limited (“Teck”) with a 20% interest. Petro-Canada Oils Sands Inc. (“PCOSI”) is the contract operator for the Fort Hills Project. On August 1, 2009, as a result of the merger, Suncor Energy Inc. (“Suncor”) became the partner and operator of the Fort Hills Project (“Operator”) and now holds Petro-Canada’s 60 percent interest in the Fort Hills Project.
UTS holds a 50% interest in each of the Equinox oil sands mining project (the “Equinox Project”) and the Frontier oils sands mining project (the “Frontier Project”), both of which are located on the west side of the Athabasca River west of the Fort Hills Project. The Equinox Project bisects the Pierre River project operated by Shell Canada Limited (“Shell”) and the Frontier Project is located to the north of both of these project areas. UTS considers both the Equinox Project and the Frontier Project to be mineable oil sands projects. Identification of these projects confirms the value of the past three years of drilling and land posting activity by the Company.
In addition to these projects, UTS holds a 50% interest in 148,480 and 94,080 acres, respectively, of exploration lands to the east and west of the Athabasca River. These other leases include the recent discovery from Leases 421, 022 and 023 (the “Lease 421 Area”) and are expected to provide further opportunities and future funding flexibility for the Company.
UTS believes the exploration lands to the west of the Athabasca River, not included in the Frontier Project and the Equinox Project, may have the potential for in situ development opportunities using existing or emerging production technologies.
UTS believes that the combination of the Fort Hills Project, the bitumen resources and the exploration land assets on both the west and east sides of the Athabasca River (particularly the leases related to the Equinox Project and the Frontier Project) present growth opportunities for shareholders.