Athabasca Oil Sands

HistoryClassic Athabasca oil sands are named after the Athabasca River, which flows through the center of the deposit, and traces of heavy oil are readily observed on the river banks. Historically, the bitumen has been used by the Cree and Dene Aboriginal peoples to waterproof their canoes. The oil fields are located within the Treaty 8 First Nations and several of the region are involved in sables.sables Athabasca oil on the banks of the river, c. 1900Les Athabasca oil sands have been brought to the attention of European fur traders in 1719 when Wa-pa-su, a trader shouts, brought a sample of oil sands from the Hudson’s Bay Company post at York Factory on Hudson Bay, where Henry Kelsey was the manager. In 1778, Peter Pond, another fur trader and one of the founders of the rival North West Company, became the first European to see the Athabasca deposits after discovering the Methye port allowing access to resources rich fur of the Athabasca River system from the Hudson Bay watershed versants.En 1788, fur trader Alexander Mackenzie (who later discovered routes to both the Arctic and Pacific oceans in the region) wrote: “At about 24 miles (39 km) of the fork (the Athabasca and Clearwater) are some bituminous fountains including a pole 20 feet (6. 1 m) in length can be inserted without any resistance. The bitumen is liquid and when mixed with gum, resinous substance from the spruce gum serves Indian canoes. “He was followed in 1799 by David Thompson Map Maker and 1819 by the British naval officer Sir John Franklin.Sir John Richardson made the first geological evaluation of oil sands in 1848 on his way north in search of the lost Franklin expedition. The first survey sponsored by the government of the oil sands was launched in 1875 by John Macoun in 1883, GC Hoffman of the Geological Survey of Canada attempted separation of bitumen from oil sands using the water and stated that separate easily. In 1888, Dr. Robert Bell, director of the Geological Survey of Canada, told a Senate committee that “the evidence … Items on the existence of the Athabasca and Mackenzie valleys in the area of oil broadest America, if not the world. “In 1926, Dr. Karl Clark of the University of Alberta developed a method for separating the hot water that became the basis of a thermal extraction process today. Several attempts to implement he had more or less success, but it was 1967 before the first commercially viable operation began with the opening of the Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) plant using surface water in the separation process developed by Dr. Earl W. Malmberg society suntan oils. bitumineuxLa sands production commercial production of oil from the Athabasca oil sands began in 1967 when Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited (then a subsidiary Sun Oil Company, but now an independent company called Suncor Energy) opened its first mine, producing 30,000 barrels per day (4,800 m3 / d) of synthetic crude oil. development was inhibited by declining world oil prices and the second mine, operated by the Syncrude consortium, did not begin operating until 1978, after the oil crisis of 1973 has attracted the interest of investors. However, the price of oil subsided after, and although the energy crisis of 1979 because of oil prices reach new highs, the introduction of the National Energy by Pierre Trudeau discouraged foreign investment in the Canadian oil industry. During the 1980s, oil prices decreased to very low levels, causing serious downturn in the oil industry, and the third mine, operated by Shell Canada did not begin operating until 2003. However, due to higher oil prices since 2003, existing mines have been greatly expanded and new ones are prévus.Selon the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, 2005, production of crude bitumen in the Athabasca oil sands was as follows: 2005 Productionm3/jourbbl / jourSuncor mine31.000195.000Syncrude mine41.700262.000Mine Shell Canada26.800169.000Projets situ21.300134.000TOTAL120.800760.000En in 2006, production of oil sands production increased to 1. 126 million barrels per day (179,000 m3 / d) . The oil sands were the source of 62% of the total oil production in Alberta and 47% of all oil produced in Canada. The Alberta government believes that this level of production could reach 3 Mbbl / d (480,000 m3 / d) in 2020 and possibly 5 Mbbl / d (790,000 m3 / d) by 2030. futureEn production in December 2008, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has revised its forecast for crude oil from 2008 to 2020 take account of cancellations of projects and cutbacks due to falling prices in the second half of 2008. The revised estimates of Canada predicts that oil sands production will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace than previously expected. It there would be minimal changes to the 2008-2012 generation, but by 2020 production would be 300,000 barrels per day (48,000 m3 / d) less than its previous forecast. This would mean that the Canadian oil sands production increased from 1 . 2 million barrels per day (190,000 m3 / d) in 2008-3. 3 million barrels per day (520,000 m3 / d) in 2020, and that the Canadian production of oil should increase from 2. 7-4. 1 million barrels per day (430,000 to 650,000 m3 / d) in 2020. Even taking account of cancellations of projects, it puts us among the four or five largest oil producers in the world by 2020. In early December 2007, London-based BP and Calgary based Husky Energy announced a 50/50 joint venture to produce and refine bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands. BP would contribute its Toledo, Ohio refinery to joint venture, while contributing his Husky Sunrise oil sands project. Sunrise has been planned to start producing 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m3 / d) of bitumen in 2012 and may reach 200,000 barrels / day (30,000 m3 / d) d ’2015-2020. BP modify its refinery in Toledo to treat 170,000 barrels / day (27,000 m3 / d) of bitumen directly on refined products. The joint venture would solve problems for both companies, since Husky was short of refining capacity, and BP had no presence in the oil sands. There was a change of strategy for BP, because the company has always downplayed the sands bitumineux.À mid-December 2007 ConocoPhillips has announced plans to increase its oil sands production of 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m3 / d) 1 million barrels per day (160,000 m3 / d) during the next 20 years, which would make the largest private sector oil sands producer in the world. ConocoPhillips currently has the largest position in the oil sands in Canada with more than 1 million acres (4,000 km2) under the lease. Other major producers sands planning to increase production include Royal Dutch Shell (to 770,000 barrels / day (122,000 m3 / d) Syncrude Canada (550,000 barrels / day (87,000 m3/day) Suncor Energy (500,000 bbl / day ( 79,000 m3 / d) and Canadian Natural Resources (500,000 bbls / day (79,000 m3/day). If all these projects materialize, these five companies are likely to produce more than 3 3. million barrels (500,000 m3 / d) oil sands by 2028.Major Athabasca Oil Sands Projects (in December 2007) Name projetTypePrincipaux partenairesNationalAffiliation2007 Production (barrels / day) Planned production (barrels / day) of SuncorPrincipalement minesSuncor EnergyCanada239.100500.000SyncrudeExploitation minièreSyncrudeCanada (some states USA) 307.000550.000Albian SandsExploitation minièreShell (60%), Chevron (20%), Marathon (20%) United Kingdom / Netherlands, United Unis136.000770.000MacKay RiverSAGDPetro-CanadaCanada30.000190.000Fort HillsExploitation minièrePetro Canada (60 %), UTS Energy (20%), Teck (20%) Canada140.000Foster Creek, Christina LakeSAGDL’énergie EnCana (50%), ConocoPhillips (50%), Canada, United Unis6000400.000 SurmontSAGDTotal SA (50%), ConocoPhillips (50%), France, United Unis193.000HangingstoneSAGDJapan Canada Oil Sands (JACOS) Japon800030.000Long LakeSAGDNexen (65%), OPTI Canada (35%) and in mining Canada240.000HorizonExtraction situCanadian Natural Resources LimitedCanada500.000Jackfish I and IISAGDDevon EnergyUSA? ? 70.000Northern LightsExploitation minièreTotal SA (60%), Sinopec (40%) France, Chine100.000KearlExploitation minièreImperial Oil ExxonMobilUSA300.000Lever soleilSAGDHusky of Energy (50%), BP (50%), Canada, United Uni200.000FichuSAGDHusky EnergyCanada?? bitumineuxExtraction 30.000Projet sands mining and SAGDTotal SA (76%), Oxy (15%), Inpex (10%), France, USA, Japon225.000Ells RiverSAGDChevron (60%), Marathon (20%), Shell (20%), States United, United Kingdom / Netherlands Bas100.000Terre de GrâceSAGDInc creation valeurCanada300.000Kos Kai DehsehSAGDStatoilNorvège200.000 goldmine noirMines? Korean Society National OilCorée30.000 Total726.1005.068.000 DéveloppementLa main feature of the Athabasca deposit is that it is shallow enough to only be suitable for surface mining. Approximately 10% of the Athabasca oil sands are covered by at least 75 meters (246 ft) of overburden. The mineable area as defined by the Alberta government covers 37 contiguous townships (about 3,400 km2 / square 1300 miles) north of the city of Fort McMurray. The overburden consists of 1 to 3 meters of water-logged Muskeg on top of 0-75 feet of clay and barren sand, while the underlying oil sands are generally 40-60 feet thick and rests on relatively flat limestone rocks. Because of the ease of access, the first oil sands mine was started by Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited (a predecessor company of Suncor Energy) in 1967. Syncrude mine (the largest mine in the world at 191 km 2) [edit] followed in 1978, and the mine Albian Sands (operated by Shell Canada) in 2003. These three mines are associated with bitumen upgraders that convert the unusable bitumen into synthetic crude oil for shipment to refineries in Canada and the United States. At Albian, recovery Scotford is located 439 km south. bitumen diluted with a solvent is transferred into a 610 millimeter (24 inch) pipeline corridor. bitumeprocessus extraction of main article: Extracting oil sands # The original process extraction of bitumen from the sands was developed by Dr. Karl Clark, working with the Alberta Research Council in the 1920s. Today, all producers to make surface mining, such as Syncrude Canada, Suncor Energy and Albian Sands Energy etc., use a variant of the hot water extraction Clark (Chwee) process. In this process, ores are mined using open pit mining technology. The ore is then ground to reduce the size. The hot water at 50 80 C is added to the ore and sludge formed is transported through the line hydrotransport a primary separation vessel (PSV), where the bitumen is recovered by flotation as bitumen froth. The foamed bitumen recovered is made of 60% bitumen, 30% water and 10% solids by weight. The foam bitumen recovered must be cleaned to reject the solids and water to meet the requirement the downstream upgrading processes. Depending on the content of bitumen in the ore, between 90 and 100% of the bitumen can be recovered using modern techniques of extraction of hot water. After extraction of oil, sand worn and other materials are then returned to the mine, which finally récupérée.Plus recently, in situ methods, such as gravity drainage by steam (SAGD) and cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) have been developed to extract bitumen from deep deposits by injecting steam to heat the oil and reduce the viscosity of the bitumen so it can be pumped as crude oil extraction process classique.Le standard requires huge amounts of natural gas . Currently, the oil sands industry consumes about 4% of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin natural gas. In 2015, this may increase. 2 5 fois.Selon the National Energy Board, it need about 1,200 cubic feet (34 m3) of natural gas to produce one barrel of bitumen from in situ projects and about 700 cubic feet (20 m3) for integrated projects. Since a barrel of oil equivalent is about 6000 cubic feet (170 m3), which represents a substantial gain in energy. This being the case, it is likely that regulators in Alberta will reduce natural gas exports to the United States to provide fuel to oil sands plants. As gas reserves are exhausted, however, recovery of oil will likely move to bitumen gasification to produce their own fuel. Similarly, bitumen can be converted into crude oil synthetic, it can also be converted to natural gas synthétique.extraction situ on a commercial scale has only just begun. A project nearing completion, the Long Lake project is designed to provide its own fuel, by the site hydrocracking of bitumen. Long Lake Phase 1 is to extract 13,000 barrels of bitumen per day from July 2008, crawls towards a target of 72,000 in late 2009. and “upgrading” of liquid petroleum bitumen in 2007, production of 60,000 barrels per day of oil available. Hydrocracking is planned to complete implementation in September 2008. environnementVoir Impacts also: Environmental issues surrounding the bitumineuxLes sands mining operations in the Tar Sands Athabasca. The image shows the Athabasca River about 600m from the tailings pond. NASA Earth Observatory photo, 2009.The critics argue that government and industry measures to minimize environmental and health risks posed by the operation large-scale mining are inadequate, causing damage to the natural environment. objective discussion of impacts on the environment has often been obscured by the arguments of polarization of the industry and advocacy groups. TerreEnviron 20% Oil Sands Alberta is recoverable by open pit mining, while 80% require in-situ extraction technologies (largely because of their depth). Surface mining destroys the boreal forest and muskeg. The Alberta government requires companies to restore the land to “equivalent land capability.” This means that the ability of land to support various land uses after reclamation is similar to what existed, but individual land uses are not necessarily identical. In certain circumstances, including the government considers agricultural land should be equivalent to the land of forests. oilsands companies have reclaimed mined land to use as pasture for wood bison instead of returning to the original boreal forest and muskeg. Syncrude says they have recovered 22% of land disturbed. EauUn Pembina Institute report stated: “To produce one cubic meter of bitumen (m3) Synthetic crude oil (SCO) (updated) in a mining operation requires about 24. 5 m3 of water (net). Approved oil sands are currently licensed to divert 359 million m3 of river Athabasca, more than twice the volume of water required to meet the annual needs of municipalities in the City of Calgary. “and added” … the net water requirements to produce one cubic meter of oil with in situ ( emphasis added) production may be as little as 0. 2 m3, depending on how much is recycled. “Jeffrey Simpson of The Globe and Mail, paraphrasing the report, saying:” One cubic meter of oil sands, needs two to four. 5 cubic meters of water. The Athabasca River runs 1231 km from the Athabasca Glacier in west-central Alberta to Lake Athabasca in northern Alberta. The average annual flow just downstream Fort McMurray is 633 cubic meters per second, with its highest daily average measuring 1200 cubic meters of water seconde.attributions licenses totaling approximately 1% of the Athabasca River flows on average. Use real terms in 2006 was about 0. 4%. In addition, the Alberta government imposes strict limits on how much water oil sands companies can remove from the Athabasca River. Under the framework for water management Lower Athabasca River during periods of consumption of river water with low flow of the Athabasca River is limited to 1. 3% of annual average flow. The province of Alberta is also seeking cooperation agreements between removing the oil sands. the use of natural gas and greenhouse gas Serrell processing bitumen into synthetic crude oil requires energy and this energy is currently produced by burning natural gas, releasing carbon dioxide . In 2007, oil sands, used about 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, about 40% of total consumption in Alberta. Based on purchases of gas, natural gas requirements are given by the Institute Canadian energy resources. 2 14 GJ (2. 04 million cubic feet) per barrel projects for cyclic steam stimulation, 1. 08 GJ (1. 03 million cubic feet) per barrel for SAGD projects , 0. 55 GJ (0 52. MCF) per barrel for bitumen extraction in mining operations excluding the upgrade or 1. 54 GJ (1 47. MCF) per barrel for extraction and updating farm level minière.Les growth forecast of synthetic crude oil production in Alberta also threatens Canada’s international commitments. In ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to reduce, by 2012, emissions greenhouse gas emissions by 6% compared to 1990. In 2002, total emissions of greenhouse gas emissions had increased by 24% since 1990. sands production contributed 3. 4% of Canadian gas Greenhouse 2003.Classée eighth in the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, Canada is a relatively large emitter given its population and is missing its Kyoto targets. A major Canadian initiative called the Integrated CO2 Network ( ICO2N) proposed a system for capturing large-scale transport and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). ICO2N members represent a group of industry participants by providing a framework for carbon capture and development of storage in Canada, first using it to enhance oil recovery. Nuclear energy has also been proposed as a way to generate the necessary energy without releasing greenhouse gases. PopulationLes the Athabasca oil sands are located in the northern part of the Canadian province of Alberta, near the town of Fort McMurray. The area is only sparsely populated, and in the late 1950s he was primarily a wilderness outpost a few hundred those whose main economic activities include trapping and removal of salt. In a population of 37,222 in 1996, the boomtown of Fort McMurray and the region (known as the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo) increased 79,810 persons 2006, including a population “shadow” of 10,442 living in work camps, leaving the community struggling to provide services and housing for migrant workers, many of Eastern Canada including Newfoundland. Fort McMurray has ceased to be an incorporated city in 1995 and is now an urban service area within Wood Buffalo. pétroleÉnergie Estimated reserves of the Alberta Government and Utilities Board (EUB) estimated in 2007 that nearly 173 billion barrels (27. 510 ^ 9 m3) of crude bitumen are economically recoverable from the three areas of oil sands in Alberta on the benchmark price of WTI market of $ 62 per barrel in 2006, amounting to a provided 69 per barrel in 2016 with current technology. This equates to approximately 10% of the 1,700 billion barrels (27 010 ^ 9 m3) of bitumen in place. In fact, WTI prices exceeded $ 133 in May 2008. Alberta believes that the Athabasca deposits alone contain 35 billion barrels (5. 610 ^ 9 m3) of bitumen surface mineable and 98 billion barrels (15. 610 ^ 9 m3) of bitumen recoverable by in situ methods . These estimates of Canada’s reserves were doubted when they were first published, but is now widely accepted by the international petroleum industry. This book proved reserves of Canada placed second in the world behind Saudi Arabia. Syncrude Mildred Lake mine site and usineLa method of calculating economically recoverable reserves which have produced these estimates was adopted because conventional methods of accounting for reserves gave numbers more and more sense. They showed that Alberta has been running out of oil at a time when the rapid increase in oil sands production were more than offsetting declines in conventional oil, and in fact most of Alberta’s oil production is now unconventional oil. estimates of conventional oil reserves are really calculations of the geological risk of drilling for oil, but oil sands there is very little geological risk because they are flush with the surface and are easy to locate. With higher oil prices since 2003, the economic risk of low oil prices has been réduite.L Alberta believes that assuming a recovery rate of about 20% bitumen in place, while the oil companies, by gravity drainage using steam (SAGD) bitumen extraction method report that they can recover over 60% with little effort. Only 3% of initial established reserves of crude bitumen were produced since commercial production began in 1967. production rate in 2015, about 3 million barrels per day (48 010 ^ 3 m3 / d), the oil sands of Athabasca reserves would last over 170 years. However, these production levels need an influx of workers in an area that until recently was virtually uninhabited. In 2007, this need in northern Alberta has led the unemployment rate in Alberta and British Columbia adjacent to the lowest level in the history. As far as the Atlantic provinces, where workers go to work in Alberta, the unemployment rate fell to levels not seen for over a hundred ans.L Venezuelan Orinoco Oil Sands site may contain sand Athabasca oil more. However, while the Orinoco deposits are less viscous and easier to produce using conventional techniques (the Venezuelan government prefers to call “extra-heavy oil), they are too deep to access by surface mining. ÉconomieMalgré substantial reserves, the cost of extracting oil from tar sands has always made the oil sands production cost unprofitablehe to sell the crude oil does not cover the direct costs of recovery work at the mine sand and fuel to extract the oil price brut.Les 1996-2008 (unadjusted for inflation) in mid-2006, the National Board of Canada has estimated the cost of operations a new mining in the Athabasca oil sands to C $ 9 to $ 12 Cdn a barrel, while the cost of an in-situ SAGD (using two horizontal wells) would be $ 10 to C $ 14 per barrel. This compares operating costs of conventional oil wells, which can vary from less than a dollar a barrel in Iraq and Saudi Arabia for more than six U.S. and Canadian oil reserves classique.Le capital cost of the equipment needed to mine sand and transport it to treatment is an important factor in starting production. The NEB estimates that capital costs increase the total production cost C 18 to C $ 20 per barrel to a new mining operation and C $ 18 C $ 22 per barrel for a SAGD operation. This does not include the cost of upgrading the raw bitumen into synthetic crude oil This makes the final cost C $ 36 to $ 40 Canadian per barrel for a new operating minière.Par Therefore, although high oil prices make the cost of production very attractive, the price slump leaves producers unable costslthough recover their capital firms are well funded and can tolerate long periods of low prices since the capital has already been spent and they can usually cover the operating costs supplémentaires.Cependant, development of commercial production is facilitated by the fact that exploration costs are very low. These costs are an important factor in assessing the economics of drilling a conventional oil field. The location of oil in the oil sands are well known and an estimate recovery costs can usually be done easily. There is no one else in the world, with energy deposits of similar magnitude which would make it less likely that plants would be confiscated by a hostile government nationally, or be threatened by war or révolution.En due to higher oil prices since 2003, the economy of oil sands operations have improved considerably. In a world price of U.S. $ 50 a barrel, the NEB has estimated an integrated mining would yield a rate of 16-23%, while a SAGD operation would be 16-27%. Prices have increased since 2006, exceeding U.S. $ 145 in mid- 2008. Accordingly, capital expenditures in the oil sands announced for the period 2006-2015 should exceed C $ 100 billion, twice the amount expected as recently as 2004. However, due to a shortage of acute labor has developed in Alberta, it is unlikely that all these projects can be accomplies.À Currently the Fort McMurray area has seen the greatest impact of increased activity in sands. Although jobs are plentiful, housing is scarce and expensive. People seeking work often arrive in the region without arranging accommodation, driving up the price of accommodation. The area is isolated, only a two-lane highway linking the rest of the province, and there is pressure on the government of Alberta to improve road links as well as hospitals and other infrastructures.Malgré all corporate efforts to move as many construction work as possible out of the Fort McMurray, Alberta and even the shortage of skilled workers is spreading to the rest of the province.. Even without the oil sands, Alberta’s economy is strong but the oil sands development has led to the strongest period of economic growth ever recorded by a Canadian province. géopolitiqueLes importance of the Athabasca oil sands are now an important place in international trade negotiations, with rivals Energy China and the United States to negotiate with Canada for a greater share of oil sands production is increasing rapidly. Output in the oil sands is expected to quadruple between 2005 and 2015, reaching 4,000,000 barrels / day, increasing their political and economic weight. Currently, most tar sands production is exported to the United States Unis.Un agreement has been signed between PetroChina and Enbridge to build a 400,000 barrels per day (64,000 m3 / d) pipeline