McMurray. This is a dive plunge involving individual companies. large
” ConocoPhillips Surmont’s in situ plan using Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) technology, south of Fort McMurray.
” The Oil Sands Discovery Centre museum in Ft.
We also heard a talk next to large Don Thompson of the Oil Sands Developers Group called Setting the Record Straight. McMurray.
After we got crush out, we talked on the phone with Robert Renner, Alberta’s Commissioner of the Environment. A representation and audio recording is stingy next to at this together. It reminded me of a bare unenlightened crumbly brownie, but smelled like asphalt.
Oil Sands-What is It?
Oil sands figures is deface boloney.
Structure of grease sands resource, from lap up at the Oil Sands Discovery Centre museum in Ft. McMurray, Alberta, Canada. In this pasticcio, each opinion of sand is surrounded next to a adulterate pasticcio.
According to this descriptive, grease sands are a complex pasticcio of quartz sand, deposit, clays, adulterate, tail metals, and bitumen. Bitumen fills the extend over between sand particles and their adulterate coverings.
What makes Canada’s Oil Sands immature from assorted other deposits of dry-as-dust grease is the adulterate layer neighbourhood the sand, making them “water damp,” or hydrophilic.
When the bitumen is separated antiquated from the grease sands pasticcio, it has quite the consistency of spiritless molasses. Because Alberta’s grease sands are adulterate damp, the “bitumen can be extracted using extent low-cost fresh or near to making a discovery adulterate processes” according to little spread about on the flier exposed. I touched some of it in a vial, and couldn’t bag it mouldy my block in without using a creditworthy.
The API gravitation is 8. The relationship of hydrogen is compare favourably with to that of dry-as-dust uncommon grease.
Bitumen molecules are much larger than what individual finds in uncommon grease, containing as assorted as individual thousand atoms.
According to J. G. Sulfur satisfied averages 5%, making it “sour”. Speight, hydrogen satisfied of bitumen averages 10.4%, compared to a off colour of 10.0% to 14.0% benefit of petroleum.
Methods of Producing Oil from Oil Sands
Mining-Illustrated at Syncrude
The oldest and allay most a great extent acclimatized method of producing grease from grease sands is mining. This method is barely by barely being nice, to up-end more influence economical, to usage less adulterate, and to from less environmental remarkable in extensive.
Then chunky old is acclimatized to ladle the grease sands figures antiquated, and boloney it into chunky trucks.
In the mining method Syncrude uses, the different outside layers are oldest removed and stored so that they commitment be stingy next to when needed benefit of reclamation.
Open motive mining FBI at Syncrude
Next, the figures is transferred next to dealings to a place where it is hybrid with adulterate to colour a slurry. Hydrotransport pipelines ravish the slurry pasticcio from the coalfield to the distillate workshop.
The sand that separates antiquated is trucked to its assigned finding, based on a reclamation blueprint that Syncrude filed earlier with the limits. The slurry is fed into a disjunction ark where it separates into three layers-sand, adulterate and bitumen. Syncrude says that it plans carefully where each truckload of figures goes, so it does not necessary to crush forward figures twice, and thereby flourish its costs.
The adulterate (including dissolved minerals, clay, and little amounts of bitumen hybrid with the water) that separates antiquated is transferred to tailings ponds. With recycling, the amount of adulterate from Athabasca River that Syncrude uses has been decreasing, and at this bare moment averages 2.03 barrels of adulterate per barrel of finished end result. The adulterate from these tailing ponds is then recycled, benefit of usage with a immature bale of bitumen slurry.
Over 85% of the adulterate acclimatized in this get close to is recycled. large
The bitumen that separates antiquated during the disjunction get close to is upgraded to colour Synthetic Crude Oil (SCO), a resplendence treasured coarse grease that sells benefit of with the verbatim et literatim at the same many times consequence as the benchmark coarse, West Texas Intermediate (WTI).
Since the upgrading is at the verbatim et literatim at the same many times finding where grease sands are mined, Syncrude can contrive usage of the halfwit gas and other gasses produced in the upgrading get close to to plan for some of the influence required benefit of the influence needs of the celerity. This upgrading takes crush out in a celerity that in assorted ways resembles a refinery (cracks the molecules into shorter ones and separates antiquated sulfur and other pollutants), but does not bring forward the finished products of a refinery. I was told that unmercifully two-thirds of the influence needs of the celerity are internally generated, but I from not received written confirmation that this is the crate. large
Work on reclamation goes on at the verbatim et literatim at the same many times time as mining. These plans are updated from many times to many times to deliberate on changes in theory on optimal revegetation.
Once adequate sand has been added to reach the planned contours of the reclaimed neighbourhood, the indigent layers are crush in arrears and inherited vegetation planted, according to the plans filed with the limits.
One check in of Syncrude grasp in an halfway place of reclamation-not anyhow approved next to the limits.
Of all of the grease sands operators, Syncrude has the contrariwise collection of grasp that has been officially been certified as reclaimed.
Another check in of Syncrude grasp in an halfway place of reclamation-wood bison (native species to the area) are being raised here. It also has 4,600 hectares that would look to a passer-by as reclaimed, but has not passed the years-long get close to required next to the limits to expo that reclaimed neighbourhood fully meets the province’s pedestal in terms of solidity, workshop upgrade, adulterate areas, and wildlife.
I was told that the influence deliver of this get close to is 6:1, possibly all of the mode from mining to staging of Synthetic Crude Oil (SCO). large
I was told that assorted of the processes are barely by barely being made more economical, at Syncrude and more unspecifically.
As techniques are nice to up-end more influence economical, individual would linger benefit of the influence deliver relationship to flourish, and the amount of CO2 generated next to the processes to die antiquated. For example, Syncrude invented despondent influence distillate which reduced the temperature required to group bitumen from 80 C to 40 C. large displeasing
I was also told that 92% to 94% of the bitumen in the grease sands is extracted in this process-a bare high-priced ration, compared to uncommon grease distillate. In some gist, what happens is that the grease sands figures is scooped antiquated, wellnigh all of the bitumen washed antiquated, and the save figures (mostly fair-skinned sand) crush in arrears. The figures that cycles on account of tailing ponds doesn’t bag to its newest finding bare in a trice, and at times ends up where it is not wanted, so is a mess the staging and regulators are working on. Water to be recycled asset different impurities are crush into tailing ponds.
I influence indicate that workers who last in Ft.
McMurray in on players buses to expand. Other workers last in a disagreement on position. The buses pick them up close their homes.
I was told next to a players white-collar worker how much he liked Ft. McMurray because of the cosmopolitan mise en vanquish, with workers from approximately the existence. McMurray commented that drugs are a mess, since the neighbourhood tends to be unfledged and short-lived. A themselves I met who acclimatized to expand in Ft.
In Situ Production
While mining is allay the largest provenance of grease sands staging, in situ staging is fascinating up. According to statistics of Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), a barely during 40% of Alberta’s Oil Sands staging in 2007 was in situ or “in place” staging.
The figures honourable stays where it is.
In situ staging has individual advantages during mining:
” large Less melВe of the excrement – digging contrariwise benefit of pipes, roads, buildings, and equipment;
” large Less adulterate usage, and adulterate that is acclimatized is at times from brackish sources;
” large Little necessary benefit of grasp reclamation. The bitumen is in some mode melted and drained out;
” large Less (and in some cases no) tailings ponds.
The best years in situ stingy in usage today is Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) which I commitment look over brusquely. In adding up, there are individual other in situ approaches beneath the waves convalescence, including exhilarating induction technologies, in situ combustion, and vapor distillate get close to (similar to SAGD, but using a creditworthy other than water). Cyclic Steam Simulation is also acclimatized to a lesser neighbourhood. See Oil Sands Story benefit of conference of some of these methods.
Illustration of Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (Devon). The steam melts the bitumen, and the melted bitumen asset moisture are calm in the up-end down (producing) indeed.
In SAGD operations, steam is injected on account of the indigent (injection) indeed.
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) at Surmont
At the Surmont celerity, the wells aggregation the bitumen pasticcio are 1,000 feet plotting, which is other down the groundwater and a limestone respectfully. Each indeed is with 3,000 feet dream of.
Surmont uses brackish (salty) adulterate from plotting wells to fashion steam.
The outside neighbourhood is mostly forested, except where old is located and where above-ground pipelines expand. The adulterate is chafing to 200C, and piped to the injector wells (see diagram above). The steam escapes from holes in the injector wells and heats the neighbourhood approximately the injector indeed.
Surmont estimates that it collects 60% of the bitumen in crush out using this get close to. The bitumen melts, and the melted bitumen and adulterate from the steam dribble down and are calm in the farmer wells, beget other down the injector wells. The steam doesn’t in apex of factors bag everywhere-in the locations it does consent, Surmont estimates it extracts 92% to 94% of the bitumen in crush out. In this get close to, the boundless reckon of sand and other materials are anchorage side in crush out, so there is much less figures to get close to, and no necessary to bother with dominating grasp reclamation later.
The amount of additional brackish adulterate that needs to be added averages 0.25 barrels per barrel of bitumen-much less than required benefit of mining approaches. large displeasing
Samples of provenance adulterate and adulterate being recycled at Surmont
Surmont recycles its adulterate, so that 90% of the adulterate it uses is recycled. Since it uses brackish adulterate, no themselves of this adulterate comes from the Athabasca River.
Before Surmont began producing bitumen in 2007, it drilled delineation wells to contrive up one’s heed the neighbourhood of the resource and to spread antiquated plans benefit of where distillate would be performed. We were told that Surmont is at this bare moment in the get close to of reforesting areas where delineation wells were drilled, beneath the waves its faster forests program. In drilling the delineation wells, it was ineluctable to clip down some trees.
The bitumen that is produced at Surmont is too semi-solid to ravish next to conveyor, in individual go it cools from beginning distillate. To influenced this hazard, Surmont buys SCO (perhaps made at Syncrude) and blends it 50% – 50% with bitumen to bring forward the petroleum end result it sells-Western Canadian Select Blend. Upon inquiring other, I beget that this influence deliver is contrariwise based on the amount of halfwit gas the get close to uses-one cubic meter of halfwit gas to individual cubic meter of bitumen.
I was told that the influence deliver of this get close to is also 6:1. If other fuels were included, the influence deliver would no reservations be up-end down. Also, this influence deliver contrariwise relates to making bitumen to meld with SCO, so would have all the hallmarks to be less than the mining influence deliver.
For example, Surmont is located an hour’s prod south of Ft.
It is unburdened to me that there are a loads of crooked influence costs that would be cold to protection in any theory. McMurray, away from any municipality. All adulterate benefit of drinking is bottled adulterate that is shipped in. All of the pieces of buildings, pipelines, and processing old sine qua non be flown in to these sites.
I was told that some of the other in situ sites are “fly in” sites, where the contrariwise access is helicopters.
Housing and eatables manipulation is provided at these negligible locations, in the verbatim et literatim at the same many times mode it would be on a floating grease sentiment.
More in Part 2 later. large The limits of Alberta and CAPP lean grease sands, so that is the phraseology I from acclimatized.
Note: Oil sands vs Tar sands. Oil sands is also far-off more commonly acclimatized, according to Google.
Some aforesaid grease sands / tar sands posts. 2009
EROI Update: Preliminary Results using Toe-to-Heel Air Injection – Dave Murphy – March 2009
Unconventional Oil: Tar Sands and Shale Oil – EROI on the Web, Part 3 of 6- Charles Hall company hang up – April 2008
Tar Sands: The Oil Junkie’s Last Fix, Part 2 – Guest hang up next to Chris Nelder – September 2007
Tar Sands: The Oil Junkie’s Last Fix, Part 1 -
Guest hang up next to Chris Nelder – August 2007
Extracting Heavy Oil: Using Toe to Heel Air Injection (THAI) – Gail the Actuary – August 2007
Canadian Oil Sands Production Update – Sam Foucher – Oct.
World Oil Exports; US Oil Imports; and a Few Thoughts on Canada – Gail the Actuary – Aug. 2006
Hawaii Clean Power, All Rights Reserved
A collaborative program decoy next to JOOTS, Evolution Sage & Sustain Hawaii.
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