CALGARY,
March 12, 2014 /CNW/ - US Oil Sands
Inc. ("US Oil Sands" or the "Company") (TSXV: USO), a
company focused on oil sands exploration and production in
Utah, today announced that it has
filed its audited consolidated financial statements ("Financial
Report") for the twelve month period ended December 31, 2013 along with the management
discussion and analysis ("MD&A") of the financial
results of US Oil Sands for such period.
A copy of the aforementioned documents may be
found for viewing on the System for Electronic Document Analysis
and Retrieval website at www.sedar.com as well as US Oil Sands'
website at www.usoilsandsinc.com.
SELECTED OPERATIONAL & FINANCIAL
HIGHLIGHTS
Some of the achievements in 2013 include:
- Completed a private placement for gross proceeds of
$81,005,452 that fully funds the PR
Spring 2,000 bbl/day project (The "PR Spring Project") to first
oil;
- Selected Kellogg Brown & Root LLC ("KBR") to provide
project and construction management services for the PR Spring
Project. Working jointly with US Oil Sands, KBR will work to
bring extraction facilities and mine development to commercial
startup;
- Completed an extended duration pump test of the deep aquifer,
confirming the supply and delivery capabilities of the water source
for the PR Spring Project and expansion;
- Initiated the opening of the PR Spring Project site through
supply of road-building materials for a state-funded road building
project; and
- Received a favorable ruling from the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining regarding a
challenge to the Company's large mine permit.
"2013 was a pivotal and transformational year
for our Company, as we were able to successfully complete an
$81 million equity financing that
fully funds the development of our 2,000 bbl/day PR Spring
Project," said Cameron Todd, CEO of
US Oil Sands. "Having recently engaged KBR to lend their
world-class expertise to the engineering and project management of
the PR Spring Project, our attention is now squarely focused on
progressing operations towards commercial startup in mid-2015."
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
During 2013, the Company continued to work with
its engineering consultants and equipment suppliers to enable
initiation of project work on Phase 1 of the PR Spring Project.
Project construction, management and consulting contracts have been
awarded to KBR, FLSmidth USA Inc.,
and Norwest Corporation.
Work on the PR Spring Project site was initiated
through an agreement to supply water and raw road-building
materials for a state-funded road construction project. US Oil
Sands permitted and mobilized a man-camp to support field
operations. Crushed aggregate for the road was obtained from
areas within the Company's planned mine pit. This allowed the
Company to initiate mine-opening earlier and reduce future mining
costs while eliminating surface disturbance from a separate gravel
supply pit. Pumping equipment was installed to bring the
production water well to operational status. In supplying
water for the road project, US Oil Sands was able to concurrently
execute an extended duration pump test of the deep aquifer. This
three month test exceeded previous ground water model predictions
and confirmed the supply capability of project water supply for
future expansion. This water installation will now be used as
a key part of the Phase 1 mining and extraction project.
On October 18,
2013, the Company closed an $81
million private equity financing, issuing 540,036,331 Common
Shares at a price of $0.15 per Common
Share. The price per share represented close to a 50% premium to
the then market trading price of the Company's shares.
Following completion of the financing, and as at December 31, 2013, the Company had a total of
852,892,395 Common Shares outstanding on a non-diluted basis. The
Company intends to use proceeds from the financing to complete the
first phase of the commercial development of the PR Spring Project
and to accelerate future production phases. Proceeds raised
in excess of those required to fund the PR Spring Project will
allow the Company to initiate corporate development activities that
may include the acquisition of, or participation in, other oil
sands assets.
In connection with the financing, Serafino Iacono, Ronald
Pantin, Stephen Lehner, and
Alfred Holcomb were appointed to the
Company's Board of Directors, joining continuing directors
Ed Chwyl, Cameron Todd and Verne Johnson.
SUMMARY OF SELECTED 2013 FINANCIAL
RESULTS
The following financial data was selected from
the Company's consolidated financial statements which have been
prepared using the accounting policies under IFRS as issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board.
December 31 |
|
|
|
|
|
2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
Total assets |
|
|
|
|
|
95,204,711 |
20,957,317 |
14,074,958 |
Net loss |
|
|
|
|
|
(7,747,681) |
(4,396,126) |
(3,993,101) |
Total comprehensive loss |
|
|
|
|
|
(6,849,989) |
(4,608,059) |
(3,857,128) |
Cash used in operations |
|
|
|
|
|
(4,980,923) |
(3,548,596) |
(2,445,410) |
Loss per share - basic and diluted |
|
|
|
|
|
(0.02) |
(0.02) |
(0.02) |
As at December 31,
2013, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of
$77,582,389, net working capital of
$77,267,313 and no commitments for
capital expenditures. The Company intends to use its cash and cash
equivalent balance to fulfill its current liabilities and fund its
PR Spring Project. The Company has no bank debt or banking
credit facilities in place.
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
A former Director of the Company exercised
250,000 options at an exercise price of $0.115 per share on January 14, 2014. On January 16, 2014, 1,250,000 options with a
weighted average exercise price of $0.154 that had been granted to former Directors
expired.
OUTLOOK
For the remainder of 2014, US Oil Sands will
continue to focus on site preparation and construction of the PR
Spring Project, including final project engineering and procurement
of necessary equipment and supplies. In keeping with these
activities, management anticipates that the majority of off-site
fabrication of the process extraction plant will be completed in
2014, with final field assembly and commercial start-up expected to
occur in 2015.
As a part of its longer term strategic
objectives, US Oil Sands intends to pursue additional opportunities
both through exploration and acquisition of additional resource
lands. Also as part of this strategy, management intends to further
its regulatory application efforts on its Utah properties, to ensure a ready inventory
of future mineable assets for the Company.
ABOUT US OIL SANDS INC.
US Oil Sands is engaged in the exploration and
development of oil sands properties and, through its wholly owned
United States subsidiary US Oil
Sands (Utah) Inc., has a 100%
interest in bitumen leases covering 32,005 acres of land in
Utah's Uinta basin. The Company
plans to develop its oil sands properties using its proprietary
extraction process which uses a bio-solvent to extract bitumen from
oil sands without the need for tailings ponds. The Company is in
the pre-production stage, anticipating the commencement of bitumen
production and sales in 2015.
The foregoing information contains
forward-looking information relating to the future performance of
the Company including information relating to the use of proceeds
of the Financing, the development and construction of the PR Spring
Project, commencement of commercial production and corporate
development activities. Forward looking information is subject to a
number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated in our forward looking statements. Such risks and other
factors include, among others, the actual results of exploration
activities, changes in world commodity markets or equity markets,
the risks of the petroleum industry including, without limitation,
those associated with the environment, delays in obtaining
governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion
of development or construction activities, title disputes, change
in government and changes to regulations affecting the oil and gas
industry, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to
time in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities
administrators (available at www.SEDAR.com). Forward-looking
statements are made based on various assumptions and on
management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the
statements are made. Should one or more of these risks and
uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described
in the forward-looking information contained herein. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if
these assumptions, beliefs, estimates and opinions or other
circumstances should change, except as required by applicable
law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE US Oil Sands Inc.