Husky Energy has commenced production at the 10,000 barrels per day (bbls/day) Edam East heavy oil thermal project in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Edam East Lloyd thermal project, which commenced steam operations in March 2016, is the first of three new thermal projects planned to commence production this year.
The other two of the three projects include 10,000 bbls/day Vawn development and the 4,500 bbls/day Edam West project.
Husky Energy expects the addition of Edam East, Vawn and Edam West to add about 24,500 barrels of new production by the end of this year.
Husky Energy Asim Ghosh CEO said: "Our growing portfolio of heavy oil thermal projects continues to lead Husky’s transition into a low sustaining capital business.
"Edam East is another example of the quick ramp ups that we’ve come to expect from these developments, which have operating costs amongst the lowest in the industry."
The firm uses recovery methods including predominately cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS), and horizontal well technology for its heavy oil operations.
In November 2015, Husky Energy announced its plan to proceed with the further development of its Rush Lake heavy oil thermal project in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The new 10,000 barrels per day (bbls/day) heavy oil thermal project, Rush Lake 2, is planned to commence production in late 2018.
The company plans to increase its heavy oil thermal production to about 80,000 bbls/day by the end of 2016, from about 18,000 bbls/day in 2010.