Category Archives: tar sands

Petroteq NOI revoked for Asphalt Ridge

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Petroteq has been successfully using our system to scam investors and residents of Vernal Utah for years. The Utah Division of Oil Gas and Mining has finally ended the NOI permit at TMM Asphalt Ridge and ordered Petrorteq to begin reclamation in April 2022 that was to be completed by July 30 2022. It is unclear if they have done any reclamation. 

asphalt ridge

A February 4, 2022 letter from Asphalt Ridge Inc of Reno Nevada indicates that Pertoteq has been evicted from their mine site at Temple Mountain for non-payment of rent. Asphalt ridge Inc. is the owner of the land where Petroteq was operating their project.  The termination of Petoteq’s right of Entry onto the property effectively terminates their mine permit at Asphalt Ridge outside of Vernal Utah.    

I have been warning folks that this project is a scam for several years. The company run by Aleksandr Blyumkin has had name changes and multiple partners throughout the life of the project which was permitted in 2013. During the time they were operating as MCW they were evicted from land held by SITLA. 

In June 2022 the SEC filed  cease and desist proceedings against Petroteq.

SEC filing against Petroteq  

They are ordered to correct the fraudulent statements in their SEC filings and pay these fines:

Petroteq shall pay civil penalties of $1,000,000 to the SEC in 4 installments within, 10 days, 180, days, 270 days, and 364 days of the court order on June 13 2022. 

Aleksandr Blyumkin shall pay civil penalties of $450,000 to the SEC on a similar schedule.  

Protest at PR Springs Utah

The connection should be made that David Sealock was the CEO of Petroteq from March of 2018 until 2020 when he left Petroteq and bought the bankrupt “US Oil Sands” tar sands strip mine at PR Springs which was called “2020 Resources”. Now it is called “Sky Quarry” owned by David Sealock who moved from Canada to Salt Lake City to run the Sky Quarry scam. 

Sky Quarry an illiquid investment

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The securities of Sky Quarry Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), represent an investment that involves a high degree of  risk, suitable only for persons who can bear the economic risk for an indefinite period of  time and who can afford to lose their entire investments.

Investors should further understand  that this investment is illiquid and is expected to continue to be illiquid for an indefinite  period of time. No public market exists for the securities to which this Subscription  Agreement relates. 

A recent visit to PR Springs brought the sheriffs from Both Uintah and Grand county to our campout for Tar Sands Resistance. The Uintah county sheriffs stayed up at the “Horn” and looked at us from a far.

Uintah county sheriffs at the Horn on Seep Ridge road.

Grand county Sheriffs had to drive down into PR Canyon to see us. We spoke to a different officer on friday and saturday. No clear explanation as to why they were there.

They were all watching the US Oil Sands mine site now owned fully by David Sealock the former CEO of Petroteq. The mostly idle mine site has added several office type trailers for the “New” project. A few people were on site including someone with California plates.

PR Springs Tar Sands processing plant now owned by Sky Quarry

The area that was previously used by Ronald Barton and The sheriff’s office for an office and housing trailer has been removed and Sky Quarry has trailers in that location. Many questions remain: Why does the sheriffs office spend money to send officers out to this mine that is a private corporation who should provide their own security if they need it.

On September 15 2021 April Abate from the Utah division Of Oil Gas and Mining visited the mine site and made an inspection report.

Here are some comments from her report:

“Mr. Sealock explained process to EPA. The company’s goal is to make Utah asphalt shingles to
be 100% recyclable by creating a closed loop vapor recovery system to prevent emissions.
Economics are still favorable to haul these to the plant. A heavy oil product will be shipped to
MC Oil and Gas and Foreland Refinery in Nevada.
Sand separation units will be relocated, and the large roller mixer will be removed. Pellets of
recycled shingles will be blended with bitumen from the mine. The Notice of Intent (NOI) is
currently out of date and will need to be revised under a significant revision. The operator has
contacted Stantec Consulting to prepare the revised NOI.”… “Solvents to be used will be a mix of d-limonene and hydrocarbon condensate mix.”

No actual mining or processing is occuring. I don’t beleive they really want to mine they just want you to invest. Sky Quarry is a scam

zombie mine plan rises at PR Springs

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2020 Resources changes name and owners to revive scam operation at PR Springs.

Like a zombie that comes back from the grave, the Tar Sands scam is too lucrative to die. 2020 Resources formerly known as US Oil Sands, has recently changed its contact address and agent info to David Sealock. David Sealock resigned as the CEO of Petroteq on March 31, 2020.As the CEO of Petroteq, Mr. Sealock was able to rip off shareholders and local businesses in Uintah county. Successfully milking the Petroteq tar sands scam project before moving on to buy 2020 Resources. 2020 Resources LLC, A division of Sky Quarry Inc. 136 East South Temple, Suite 1400 PMB 589. Salt Lake City www.skyquarry.com has filed a notice of intention to revise large mining operations at PR Springs Utah. Permit file M0470090. 

From the permit file Utah mine inspector April Abate writes:

On Thu, Jan 7, 2021 at 11:38 AM: “Jamie, We will still need to have the layout the solvent extraction process details in your new mine plan. This will undoubtedly affect the type of equipment and machinery you will be using at the facility. This will likely change at least some of the equipment currently at the facility that is listed in the bond cost spreadsheets. Once we receive your significant revision to the mine plan, we have 30 days to review it and make comments. Typically we will have comments that require you to respond to so that will be another few weeks for your company to review and submit the responses. Once/if we issue a tentative approval decision, we ask for the new reclamation bond then it will go to a 30-day public comment period. This project has been fiercely contested in the past, so I would expect that you would receive opposition comments to reactivate the operation. If the opposing parties ask for an informal hearing then it could take even longer. Based on my past experience with this operation, your schedule of mid-summer 2021 is probably not very realistic given the time it will take to revise the permit and the potential for opposition given this mine’s history. I just need to be honest with you about this. You should also check in with the Utah Division of Environmental Quality – Groundwater Protection Division to see if they are going to require a groundwater discharge permit for your operation. They may have their own requirements depending upon how you will engineer your solvent extraction system.”      

idle mine owned by 2020 resources

View of mine processing are from Seep Ridge Road

Sky Quarry bought a bankrupt project that has NEVER produced oil commercially. However these people involved seem to have no intention of actually producing a viable product. This mine at PR Springs is an important piece of the charade that is tar sands in Utah. What is being extracted from PR Springs and the other tar sands projects in Utah is investors money.

The companies that run these rip off mines are also damaging the environment. They are polluting waters and leaving a mess on the land. Local businesses in Uintah county have given credit and services to these “Foreign Limited Liability companies” who can bankrupt and default on debts over and over. Meanwhile paying their directors large salaries from investors’ monies.

Sky Quarry makes fantastic claims of clean and green projects to lure investors.

From Sky Quarrys web page: “Sky Quarry is a true green R3 (recycle, reuse, reduce) clean technology company – developing the science, engineering the technology, which will bring in a new era of sustainable recycle and reuse of asphalt shingle waste material and environmentally clean oil (ECO) production.”

Sky Quarry is now describing strip mining as REMEDIATION. A new trend in the tar sands scam circuit. 

From Linkedin: ” Environmentally clean, yet collaborative, Sky Quarry’s process removes asphalt bitumen from the asphalt shingle waste, contaminated soil remediation or oil saturated sands, without the use of valuable water resources and limiting the greenhouse gas exposure to our environment.”

Zombie mine plan should die

Sunset in PR Springs Canyon

Trent Staggs a bad choice for county mayor

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Trent Staggs is a bad choice for Salt lake County Mayor. He is currently the mayor of Riverton city. He is also involved in Vivakor, who call themselves an oil field extraction and remediation technology company. Vivakor has a long history of investors claiming they were scammed. Trent Staggs is Vivakor’s strategic development adviser. 

Trent Staggs works for a ponzi scheme

Vivakor strategic development advisor is a bad choice for county mayor.

Under Mr. Staggs direction Vivakor or Vivaventures LLC  is a scamming Utah’s school children. 

Last year Vivakor Inc made this strategic claim in a paid press release:

″We are pleased the SITLA Board unanimously approved this mineral lease, allowing us to work with the State organization in verifying the asset reserve and ultimately deploying our technology on this vast 1440 acre area. We have a great working relationship with them, successfully operating on their properties previously, demonstrating our commitment to the area and the viability of our technology… stated Vivakor Chief Executive Officer Matt Nicosia.

Trent Staggs appeared before the SITLA board and agreed to terms for a special lease he made inaccurate claims and promises to the SITLA board who approved the contract. Vivakor never signed the contract and is not leasing anything from SITLA. 

Mother natures mess

Trent Staggs says they will “clean up mother natures mess in Eastern Utah”

Currently Vivakor has no actual SITLA lease because they never signed the contract SITLA prepared and approved. They do use repeated press releases to generate interest in VIVK stocks and aid in a long standing pattern of pump and dump stock transactions.

Vivakor has also obtained grants for government aid and defaulted. 

On June 17, 2020 Vivaventures precious metals a subsidiary of Vivakor, received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan from the federal government for covid relief funds. 

VivaRRT LLC. a subsidiary of Vivakor has a debt collection judgement against them from Stubbs & Stubbs Oil Field Construction, Inc. out of Vernal Utah.

Vivakor timeline and document list from UTSR research and GRAMA requests.

 

 

Tar sands future looks bleak

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I cannot help thinking about the Earth and nature as we watch humans around the world stop many daily activities. Civilization as we know it is on hold and the air and water are getting clearer everyday.

Land leased for tar sands in Uintah county

Columbine on tar sands lease hold in Uintah county

As the value of oil and gas collapses it reveals more problems created by fossil fuel dependency. Now is the time to turn to renewable energy.

Tar Sands value in Canada was falling even before the Covid 19 pandemic. In Utah tar sands has never made a profit. It is clear that we should stop wasting money and land on extreme energy projects like tar sand and oil shale development in Utah.  

Stripmines waste Utah SITLA wastes Utah's trust.

Banner about SITLA displayed before 2017 bicycle ride.

For several years now SITLA has been promoting speculative tar sands projects that will never come to commercial success. Many groups have been saying this to SITLA for several years. By promoting unrealistic extreme energy projects and fossil fuel speculation on school trust lands SITLA added credibility to an old scam.

Banner at PR Springs on Seep Ridge Road

tar sands future is bleak in Utah.

Now they are going to try and save a sinking ship The Salt Lake Tribune reported last week:

“SITLA is looking at policy changes to give operators some relief, Adams said, such as waiving the standard penalty on those who shut in wells and extending the terms of leases.”

SITLA is facing a sharp decrease in revenue from the pandemic they should not be providing relief to fossil fuel projects. 

   

Air and water pollution in Uintah County

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Notice of Uncontrolled Air and Water Pollution in Uintah County, Utah and  Complaint made by UTSR.

tar sand strip mine Police Substation of Agent Ronald C. Barton, Utah Attorney General’s Office, for SITLA,

Deteriorating exterior insulation on a water tank serving the tar sand strip mine and Uintah County Police Substation.

       Please take notice and immediate corrective action regarding the Synthetic Vitreous Fibers (Fiberglass) being dispersed without control into the air and subsequently deposited onto the lands and into the waters of the Uncompahgre reservation in Uintah County, Utah.

 

 

US Oil Sand’s, PR Springs tar sands factory and strip mine is spreading dangerous synthetic vitreous fibers on School Trust Lands.

Shredding fiberglass at US Oil sands tar mine creating air and water pollution in Uintah County.

Shredding fiberglass at US Oil sands tar mine is leaving the property and spreading into the natural environment.

The source of the fiberglass is the deteriorating exterior insulation on a water tank serving the tar sand strip mine Police Substation of Agent Ronald C. Barton, Utah Attorney General’s Office, for SITLA, located adjacent to the USOS stripmine and factory on Seep Ridge Road, in Uintah County, Utah.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

The tank and uncontrolled dispersing fiberglass is apparently owned by USO (Utah) LLC, a private Delaware corporation based in Canada.

The tank is or was used in a bonded mine plan, M0470090, which was approved by Utah Division of Oil, Gas & Mining.

The tank is on land leased to USO (Utah) LLC., by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), and is located in Uintah County immediately west of Seep Ridge Road, just south of mile marker one.

Air and water pollution in Uintah County at PR Spings tar mine

Shredding fiberglass at US Oil sands tar mine creating air and water pollution in Uintah County.

  The US Government granted the impacted lands to the Uncompahgre Utes on January 5, 1882 by an executive order of President Chester A. Arthur, later the US Government took control of the land from the Ute Tribe through the allotment process. The Uncompahgre reservation boundaries were not diminished and the Ute nation retains jurisdiction on the subject lands.

SITLA subsequently obtained title to these lands in trade with the US Government.

The USO tarsand stripmine went into bankruptcy a couple years ago and the place shuttered up. Recently some activity is occurring. Photos of the deteriorating water tank at the tarsand stripmine show fiberglass entering the environment in large pieces and small and show the water tank’s connection to Attorney General’s Police Substation. A sample of the fiberglass has been collected as indicated.

The Photos are linked HERE: 

All of these photos accurately depict the conditions at this site in July 2019

The photos indicate recent activity at the USO stripmine factory site where a gas powered electric generator was placed on and near the water tank dispersing fiberglass in mid July 2019.

How can fiberglass affect my health?

Larger fibers have been found to cause skin, eye and upper respiratory tract irritation. There are other possible health effects:

A rash can appear when the fibers become embedded in the outer layer of the skin. No long-term health effects should occur from touching fiberglass. Eyes may become red and irritated after exposure to fiberglass. Soreness in the nose and throat can result when fibers are inhaled. Asthma and bronchitis is aggravated by exposure to fiberglass. Temporary stomach irritation will occur if fibers are swallowed. 

What happens to synthetic vitreous fibers when they enter the environment? 

Synthetic vitreous fibers do not evaporate into air or dissolve in water. They are generally not broken down to other compounds in the environment and will remain virtually unchanged over long periods. 

Eventually, synthetic vitreous fibers will be broken down if the water or soil is very acidic or very alkaline. Fibers can enter the air, water, and soil from the manufacture, use, and disposal of synthetic vitreous fiber-containing materials. Fibers with small diameters become airborne more easily than thick fibers, and can be transported by wind for longer distances. Synthetic vitreous fibers are not likely to move through soil.

Source: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2004.

Petroteq is a tar sands scam.

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Utah leadership welcomes another tar sands scam

Another tar sands scam? In Utah the false “hope” of billions of barrels of oil in tar sands and oil shale rocks is the real gold mine for a sleezy few. Consqently many companies have come and gone in the continuous pursuit of tar sands and oil shale “billions” in the remote Tavaputs Plateau of Eastern Utah. Much of this land is part of the Uncompahgre Reservation. SITLA is controlling and leasing this land on behalf of the beneficiaries who are Utah School Children.

Dead bird in tar sands seep

Bird trapped in tar seep from abadoned tar sands site near PR Springs Utah.

Who benefits?

The people who really benefit are SITLA board members and the companies they run.  The Governor Dirty Herbert (who appoints the board and the director of SITLA) and his friends also benefit. Many of the Utah State legislators and their friends benefit.  Local politicians benefit in Vernal and Uintah county. The list is long.

So much money has been invested in foolish and wasteful efforts to turn rocks into oil. Although certain people have made a lot of money from this fraud certainly most folks have lost and local communities have suffered bust and boom cycles in addition to corrupt politics, pollution and failed strip mines.

Utah leadership meets with petroteq scammer

Tar Sands scam operator from Petroteq meet with Utah Senator Van Tassel and the office of Energy Development.

Meet MCW now Petroteq chairman in the middle of this photo. Val Hale with the Utah department of energy development is shown with Utah senator Kevin Van Tassell. Legitimacy for this tar sands scam is created as a result of the visit from state officials. MCW was shown to be tresspassing on SITLA land after failing to make the lease payments to the trust shortly after this ribbon cutting .

Utah senator Kevin Van Tassell is currently proposing legislation to funnel CIB money over to his really good friend Misscarriage Mckee.

MCW energy recently changed names to Petroteq  They have a lot to hide. See the complaint I made in 2016.

MCW trespass settlement

Lease termination

page 23 of 33

MCW Oil Sands Recovery, LLC
18653 Ventura Blvd., Suite 158
Tarzana, CA 91356
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:
Township 4 South, Range 20 East, SLB&M
Section 24: SW¼NE¼ (within)
Beginning at a point on the West line of the SW¼NE¼ of Section 24, T4S, R20E, S.L.B.&M. which bears
S00°03’30″W 2188.08′ from the North ¼ Corner of said section, thence N80°35’23″E 106.99′; thence N88°14’24″E
76.21′; thence N56°09’04″E 111.45′; thence N86°57’01″E 170.56′; thence S29°35’37″E 178.54′; thence
N70°59’42″E 112.54′; thence S70°12’47″E 51.67′; thence S34°34’27″E 50.92′; thence S17°52’02″W 43.46′; thence
S65°08’33″W 148.83′; thence S21°42’48″E 29.29′; thence S63°06’47″W 303.14′; thence N75°54’48″W 196.38′;
thence N62°12’16″W 134.03′ to the said west line of the SW¼NE¼; thence N00°03’30″E 244.96′ to the point of
beginning. Basis of bearings is the North-South ¼ section line of the said section which is assumed to bear
S00°03’30″W. Contains 4.79 acres.
The lease administrator has had this legal description reviewed by the GIS Group.
COUNTY: Uintah ACRES: 4.79 FUND: School

SPECIAL USE LEASE NO. 1838 (TERMINATION) (COTNINUED)
The Director has issued a Final Agency Action terminating Special Use Lease No. 1838 effective October 3, 2016. The
lessee is MCW Oil Sands Recovery, LLC (“MCW”). The SULA 1838 was issued effective July 1, 2016, for the purpose
of constructing, operating, and maintaining an oil sands processing facility.
Paragraph 10.4(a) of the lease required that MCW provide the Agency with a good and sufficient bond or other
acceptable financial guarantee to guarantee MCW’s performance of all covenants and obligations under SULA 1838, in the
amount of $200,000, to be filed with the Agency within 30 days of the commencement date of the lease. The deadline for
submission of the required bond was July 30, 2016. The required bond was not received by SITLA by the July 30, 2016
deadline.
Pursuant to Paragraph 11.1(a) of the lease, on August 18, 2016, the Agency sent a certified notice of default to MCW,
notifying MCW that they were in default of the terms and conditions of the lease regarding the bonding requirement set
forth in Paragraph 10.4(a) of the lease. The notice of default further notified MCW that they had 30 days from the date of
the notice to cure the default, and that if the default was not cured timely, the Agency would terminate the lease and exercise
its rights and remedies pursuant to SULA 1838. The deadline for MCW to cure the default was September 17, 2016.
MCW has failed to cure the aforementioned default prior to the September 17, 2016 deadline. Therefore, pursuant to
Paragraph 10.4(b) and Paragraph 11.2 of the lease, the Agency has terminated SULA 1838, effective October 3, 2016.
A certified notice of the final Agency action has been sent to MCW. If MCW wishes to appeal the action, they must
file a written petition within 14 days of the mailing date of the action, requesting that the Board of Trustees conduct an
adjudicative proceeding to review the Agency’s action. The written petition must be filed with the office of the Director
and contain the information set forth in Utah Admin. Code R850-8-1000. In the event that an appeal is not filed in the
applicable time period, the decision will become final and unappealable.
This item was submitted by Mr. Chris Fausett for record-keeping purposes.

 

Investor Warning tar sands scam

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Recently Petroteq has been creating press releases and has put out PAID SPONSORED articles on energy websites stating they can produce oil at $20 a barrel. With the price of oil above $45 for the second half of 2016 and averaging about $50 in 2017, why couldn’t they ramp up production of their low-cost $20 a barrel oil?  The reason is simple… they can’t produce oil anywhere near $20 a barrel.

Investor warning tar Sands scam! Petroteq is seeking investors to prop up their sketchy project.

In 2017 MCW energy changed names to Petroteq.  They have a lot to hide. See the complaint I made in 2016.

MCW trespass settlement

Petroteq Investor scam site

Investor Warning tar sands SCAM, Petroteq near Vernal Utah.

investor warning tar sands scam Petroteq energy

Petroteq tar sands facility is using a diesel generator while claiming to be green house gas free.

excerpts from this article explain the concerns well. I have seen first hand the fraud occurring on land leased from SITLA for tar sands and oil sands strip mining. 

https://srsroccoreport.com/biggest-breakthrough-energy-investor-warning/

“the more research I did on Petroteq and its competitors, the more I was convinced that the company’s claims were too good to be true due to old fashion EROI economics as well as several RED FLAGS.

How so?  Well, let’s first start off with first Red Flag that takes place in many small-cap companies.  And by that, I am referring to the oldest trick in the book… changing the name of the company.  Petroteq Energy was previously called MCW Energy Group.  On May 4th, 2017 the company announced the name change:”

US Oil Sands PR Springs project sits idle.

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Daily observation shows US Oil Sands mine idle, and a lot of nothing happening at the PR Springs tar processing factory and the million dollar machines that are yet to actually work. The 99 acres including the beloved Children’s Legacy camp site are cleared of visible life. The tar layers are exposed even some “ore” has been collected and piled at the bottom of a giant conveyor belt that never moves. A few workers are on site. No longer needed is the 25 person bus from vernal that arrived every weekday last summer. 2 or 3 vehicles arrive on some days and work in the factory compound. No activity is happening at the mine pit.

US Oil Sands is a scam and may never produce a product

USOS has disclosed the lack of funds and inability to actually operate its process for 30 days as most recently promised and expects to operate for 5 days to show it can. But can it? USOS has been just about to produce oil since 2008. They have paid the corporate heads a lot of money over the years and spent a lot on the “factory” and mine but no oil has been produced. This is a victory for Earth!

My research reveals a lucrative scam that has been enriching some and harming most for many years. There are key players and paid politicians who have been perpetuating the get rich pipe dream.

The truth is tar sands or oil shale strip mining, upgrading into a use-able fuel and delivering to a viable market at a profit is a far off pipe dream in Eastern Utah.

Take a look at Canada and the reality of tar sands mining in Alberta to understand the amount of infrastructure and energy involved in the commercial production of oil. Billions of dollars were spent on the mines, factories and infrastructure to deliver the tar to market before ANY profit was returned on the investment.
Even though policy makers in Utah have repeatedly claimed there is more oil here than in Saudi Arabia the reality is that the tar sands and oil shale are rocks and sand mixed with bitumen or kerogen, lacking the water molecules present in Athabasca tar sands and cannot be extracted the same way it has been done in Canada.

Several attempts have been made and many false claims have been repeated by various start ups and a few big oil names over the years. None of these hopefuls have made any commercial product.
History shows a poor regulatory effort including out right instructions in the record of how to avoid certain regulatory triggers and admitted failure to enforce clean up or “reclamation” policies. Rural communities in have experienced boom and bust cycles with real folks loosing their jobs and homes. All the while US Oil sands CEO’S are paying them selves big salaries for running these great scams.

We continue to resist tar sands and oil shale development by exposing the scams.

US Oil Sands goes bankrupt

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News of the impending implosion of US Oil Sands. Creditors get stiffed as US Oil Sands declares bankruptcy.

http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-us-oil-sands-inc-announces-financi-idINASA09TPS

The 100 million dollar project is a big flop. This fact was actually quite clear for a very long time. Big money players have exploited the land and colluded with the politicians to create a cash cow for some, roller-coaster for others and big loss for the public. Not to mention nothing but a waste site of 99 acres that isn’t even as clean as beach sand as was promised, for the SITLA Trust fund beneficiaries.

When US Oil Sands goes bankrupt it harms the local communities and regular people who do business with them. Bankruptcy allows US oil Sands to be excused from paying most of it’s debts. SITLA has renewed US Oil Sands leases at PR Springs.