CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 26, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grizzly Oil Sands ULC ("Grizzly") today announced the appointment of John V. Pearce to the position of Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to joining Grizzly, Mr. Pearce served as Director of Business Development, Thermal Heavy Oil, for Devon Canada. Mr. Pearce managed Devon's portfolio of thermal heavy oil leases and was responsible for lease selection, preliminary design, permitting, project management and operations engineering functions for the 35,000 bpd Jackfish project, currently in operation, as well as for the Jackfish 2 project, which is in the final stages of regulatory approval. Additionally, Mr. Pearce was instrumental in the creation of the Access Pipeline, a joint venture between Devon and MEG Energy. Access Pipeline is a dual pipeline, transporting blended bitumen and diluent between Jackfish, Christina Lake and Edmonton.
Prior to his employment with Devon, Mr. Pearce served as President of Premier Environmental Management, where he was responsible for the creation of detailed and conceptual designs for thermal and primary heavy oil projects in Alberta, Italy, and Oman, among other assignments. Mr. Pearce began his career with Esso Resources Canada, where he spent most of his time with Esso's thermal operations at Cold Lake. He is a Professional Engineer and received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Grizzly Oil Sands is an independent, development-stage oil sands company with 511,765 net acres, making it one of the largest holders of oil sands acreage in Alberta. All of Grizzly's acreage is 100% owned and operated, with most located in the heart of active oil sands development areas in the Athabasca region.