Husky Energy said Aug. 26 it has started production at its Dee Valley thermal project in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The project is the second of six 10,000-barrel-per-day thermal bitumen projects to be brought onstream from 2018 to 2022, the company said in a news release.

“Dee Valley is the latest in our deep portfolio of repeatable, small-scale Lloyd developments that provide low-cost, reliable feedstock for our upgrader, asphalt refinery and U.S. refineries,” CEO Rob Peabody said in the release. “These projects have direct access to our refining hub in Lloydminster and can be transported via committed export pipeline capacity to our refineries and other U.S. markets.”

Production at Dee Valley, which Peabody said is not subject to government-mandated production quotas, will ramp up through year-end, boosting Husky’s thermal production in Saskatchewan to 90,000 barrels per day (bbl/d).

The other four Saskatchewan thermal projects underway include Spruce Lake Central, with first production anticipated second-half 202; Spruce Lake North, with first oil planned around the end of 2020; Spruce Lake East, first production planned for around year-end 2021; Edam Central, first production is expected in 2022, according to the release.

Husky’s Rush Lake 2 Lloyd thermal project began production in October 2018.

Onshore