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IST AND TEI-STRUTHERS WELLS FORM PARTNERSHIP TO PRODUCE EOR STEAM GENERATORS Toronto, Ontario - November 15, 2006 (News Release)
Aecon Group Inc. (TSX: ARE) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Innovative Steam Technologies (IST), has formed a consortium with TEi-Struthers Wells, a subsidiary of Thermal Engineering International, to produce fired Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) steam generators, a technology used to extract oil from tar sands by injecting steam into sand formations.
Under the joint development agreement signed by the two companies, TEi-Struthers Wells and IST will design, manufacture and install Enhanced Oil Recovery steam generators for key oil producing markets such as Alberta, California, and Texas. TEi-Struthers Wells has been the pioneer of this EOR technology since 1962 in heavy crude oil reserves in the U.S. The technology is also well suited for the Oil Sands deposits of northern Alberta as it is an integral part of the SAGD (steam assisted gravity drainage) process, which will be one of the means of oil recovery in the area.
The consortium will produce different sizes of units with varying levels of thermal capacity: units with a maximum capacity of 100 MMBtu/hr will use existing designs from TEi-Struthers Wells and larger units with a capacity greater than 100 MMBtu/hr will be jointly developed by Aecon and TEi-Struthers Wells. Delivery of the first EOR steam generators is targeted for 2007.
The increased production resulting from the EOR units is ideally suited to meet the growing needs of the current energy market, both in the steady rise of new large projects in Alberta, as well as the need for new and replacement boilers in the U.S.
"The in-depth experience of TEi-Struthers Wells paired with IST's design expertise and fabrication facilities make this an ideal partnership," said Bob Dautovich, President of IST. "In addition to IST's facilities, we also have the advantage of access to Aecon's Industrial Division's construction and modular assembly capabilities in Alberta, as well as their strong ties and familiarity with the needs of the Oil Sands market and clients."
"We are very pleased to partner with IST to bring our EOR design to market," said Jon Koenig, President, Thermal Engineering International (USA) Inc. "There are superb synergies between our two companies and we expect this will be a very successful partnership."
Innovative Steam Technologies is the world leader in the design and fabrication of once-through-steam-generators and is a wholly owned division of Aecon Group Inc. Aecon is Canada's largest publicly traded construction and infrastructure development company. Aecon and its subsidiaries provide services to private and public sector clients throughout Canada and internationally.
TEi-Struthers Wells is a business unit of Thermal Engineering International (USA) Inc., a subsidiary of Babcock Power Inc. TEi-Struthers Wells offers a full range of Process Equipment and Process Heaters, for which it has gained a well deserved worldwide reputation for performance and reliability. Babcock Power Inc., (BPI), based in Danvers, MA, through its subsidiaries, is one of the world's leading suppliers of technology, equipment, and services to the power generation industry.
The information in this news release includes certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties which are generally described in Section 3.2 "Risk Factors" in the 2005 Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Aecon believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct.
For more information contact:
Mitch Patten, Vice President, Corporate Affairs Aecon Group Inc. 416-297-2615 aecon@aecon.com www.aecon.com
Steve Sabo, Director of Marketing, Babcock Power Inc. 518-854-3630, ssabo@babcockpower.com www.babcockpower.com
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