Altai Resources Inc

From Wikimarcellus

Altai Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ATI) is a Canadian junior gas exploration and resource company that owns drilling rights to over 282,544 acres located in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, Province of Quebec, Canada. This consists of seven permits which collectively are known as the Sorel-Trois Rivieres property located in the heart of the Lowlands natural gas play. The property is 62 miles east of Montreal, Quebec, and 3 miles south of the TransCanada Pipeline. The TransQuebec Pipeline cuts across a portion of the acreage.

In late December, 2008 the company announced that it had bought out its joint venture partner, Petro St-Pierre Inc., and now owned 100% of the above permits. Formerly, it had owned a 59% interest. In addition, Altai owns a 15% gross royalty interest in an additional 33,840 acres in the same area of the Lowlands majority-owned by Talisman Energy Canada.

An October, 2009 announcement mentioned that Altai had obtained new permits from the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources--good for 10 years--covering all of its existing oil and gas permits in the Saint Lawrence Lowlands. The permits amounted to 282,544 acres, but did not include the aforementioned Talisman acreage in which Altai held the 15% interest. The company planned to conduct seismic testing in a portion of the southern half of the property. Seismic surveying was also planned for the northern portion of the property that is to the west of the city of Trois-Rivieres. The formations under study include the Utica shale, Lorraine shale, Trenton-Black River, Chazy Beekmantown, and Potsdam. These surveys were also intended to help improve the deliniation of the Yamaska Fault. The gas-bearing formations are down-faulted to the east of this fault, so drilling must go deeper there.

Altai issued a press release in March, 2010 in which it reported on some of the previously-mentioned seismic work. The reports pertained to the eastern portions of permits 2009PG537 and 2009PG53. 60,000 acres of the permitted area were considered to be in the Utica fairway. The Utica shale was estimated to be at a depth of 3,773 to 4,921 feet. The thickness of the (lower) Lorraine shale, located immediately above it, consistently ran just over 590 feet. The report had been strong enough to plan at least two wells to test both in the fairway acreage (Tier 1) and outside it (Tier 2). The company was studying the possibility of setting up a gas storage reservoir on another permit.

• Niyazi Kacira is Altai's President and CEO.
• Maria Au is the Secretary-Treasurer.