News

OPTI Canada Inc. engages financial advisor

May 13, 2002

Calgary, Alberta - OPTI Canada Inc. ("OPTI") has retained TD Securities Inc. as its financial advisor and agent to raise funds to finance the next stages of the Long Lake integrated oil sands project. TD Securities is working with OPTI to develop a comprehensive equity and debt financing plan for the project.

"Engaging TD Securities, a leader in financing the oil sands industry, is an important step in the development of the Long Lake Project," says Sid Dykstra, president and CEO of OPTI.

The Long Lake Project, located 40 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray, is a 50/50 joint venture between OPTI and Nexen Petroleum Canada (a partnership of Nexen Canada Ltd. and Nexen Inc.). A 70,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) development is planned on Oil Sands Lease 27, which has an estimated six billion barrels of bitumen in place.

The upgrading facility, using patented OrCrude™ upgrading technology, will be developed in two 70,000 bpd phases. It will process bitumen from Lease 27 and other lands held by OPTI and Nexen, as well as other oil sands projects in the area. The OrCrude™ technology, combined with commercially available hydrocracking and gasification technologies, produces a 38-42 degree API premium synthetic crude and a clean synthetic fuel gas. The first phase of the Long Lake Project is planned to be on stream in 2006, with preliminary capital costs estimated at $2.3 billion.

"The OrCrude™ process represents a significant advancement in upgrading, resulting in a major reduction in operating costs compared to conventional delayed coking," says Dykstra. The OrCrude™ process has been verified through the operation of OPTI's 500 bpd demonstration plant that has upgraded more than 90,000 barrels of bitumen since May of 2001.

An application for the Long Lake Project, submitted in December of 2000 is in the regulatory review process and will be revised to reflect the increase in the upgrading portion of the project.

Plans for 2002 include the drilling of 59 delineation wells, and the design and construction of a 3,000 bpd SAGD pilot facility on Lease 27. An application for the SAGD pilot facility will be filed with the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and Alberta Environment later this month. Colt Engineering Corporation has been hired to assist in the design and construction of the pilot facility. Fluor Canada Ltd. has been engaged to prepare the front end engineering design for the upgrader.

OPTI is also pleased to announce the appointment of George Crookshank as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Crookshank is a chartered accountant with more than 20 years of diversified energy industry experience. Most recently he was the CFO at EnSource Energy Services Inc. and prior to that, the CFO at Newport Petroleum Corporation.

"We're building a dynamic and experienced team with the skills necessary to ensure the success of the project, and help us identify and develop additional opportunities for our upgrading technology," says Dykstra.

OPTI is a member of the ORMAT Group of Companies. ORMAT is a world leader in innovative power systems. In business for over 35 years, ORMAT has been a supplier of ultra reliable power units for the oil and gas industry, and has built renewable energy power plants producing 700 megawatts of electricity, in over 60 countries around the world.

For more information contact:

Sid Dykstra, President & CEO (403) 218-4708
George Crookshank, CFO (403) 218-4710

This news release is not for dissemination in the United States or to any U.S. news services. The securities of OPTI Canada Inc. have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 or the securities laws of any state in the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless an exemption from registration is available.