Finland Alberta Technology Seminar October 22, 2012 Oilsands 101 Presentation
The Oil Sands Leadership Initiative Dr. Vincent Saubestre Executive Director Finland Alberta Innovation Partnership Seminar 2012-03-07
Canadian Oilsands Resources Alberta
Alberta Oilsands Facts and Figures Alberta ranks 3 rd in the world in terms of proven reserves behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. 170 billion barrels of proven reserves is 12% of world reserves. 99% of this is oilsands, 1% is conventional oil and gas. 20% of the oilsands are recoverable by mining and 80% must be recovered by insitu methods. Of 1.6 million bb/day produced, 53% is by mining, 47% is by insitu. By 2020, production is expected to be 3.5 mbb/day It takes 2 tonnes of oilsands to make 1 barrel of crude bitumen.
Alberta Oilsands Facts and Figures Alberta s oil sands underlie 140,200 km 2 To date, about 663 km 2 of land have been disturbed by oil sands mining activity (0.5%). Up to date, over 67 km 2 of disturbed lands have been reclaimed (10% of mined lands).
Canadian Oil Sands
OIL SHALES BITUMEN CARBONATES Canadian Oil Sands Decreasing Reservoir Quality/Increasing Recovery Challenge* Mining Unconventional Shallow Unconventional Deep In Situ SAGD * Bulk Oil Weight, Thickness, Heterogeneity, Baffles, Ore Grade, Thief zones (top gas, bottom water) 4
In-Situ Production (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) Source: ConocoPhillips and Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers OSLI - Title 5
Mining Production (Open Pit) Source: Total 6
Challenges of the Oil Sands ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT IS REDUCED INDUSTRY COORDINATION IS OPTIMIZED BENEFITS TO SOCIETY ARE ENHANCED ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IS ACHIEVED 6
Canada s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) is an alliance of oil sands producers focused on accelerating the pace of improvement in environmental performance in Canada s oil sands through collaborative action and innovation. The alliance was launched March 1, 2012 when representatives of 12 companies came together in Calgary to sign the COSIA charter, signifying their agreement with COSIA s vision, their support of our alliance s beliefs, and their pledge to uphold the commitments put forward in the charter.
Technology Breakthrough TBWG Program Areas Maturing and Mobilizing Technologies to Minimize Oil Sands Footprint Emerging Technologies Mining and Extraction In-Situ Processing, Utilities, Transportation and Systems Enabling Platforms Organized to manage the project work more effectively and address key challenges: Innovate Reputation Water Air & Energy Waste Cost 20 20
Canada s Oil Sands Technology Portal OSTPort OSTPort inc OSTPort OSTPort Steering Committee - October 26, 2011 13 13
In situ Program Projects identified and well underway Solvent-involved processes Alternate well configurations In-situ Combustion Metering and Instrumentation Well-pad Wind-down strategies Reviewing whether to introduce Electromagnetic processes 22 22
Process, Utilities, Transportation and Systems Focused on projects that one company might not choose to do but collectively could proceed Ideas for projects Waste reduction Waste utilization H2 pipeline network District heating using low grade heat Geothermal surveys Will include gov t and NGO input for ideas and guidance 23 23
Emerging Technologies Non-traditional area of focus for the oil sands industry Projects include: igem Earth Challenge Fusion Open Innovation 24 24
Oil Sands Processes, Separations
Oil Sands Objectives Separate Bitumen from the sand Make higher value, lower viscosity streams Sweeten Send streams (usually blended) to a conventional refinery as feedstock
Surface Mining Oil Sands Surface mining involves three main steps Mining (earlier slide) Extraction Upgrading
Mining Mining, like surface mines the world over, requires removal of the overburden (the material that is above whatever is being mined) The mines use large shovels and the world s largest dump trucks
Extraction Using primarily steam and water, along with various separation vessels, the Bitumen is separated from the sand Although the objective of extraction is simple enough, in practice it has proven challenging and has required continual optimisation over the years
Upgrading Upgrading typically involves two major steps, the first is to reduce the viscosity of the bitumen either through thermal or catalytic cracking (basically breaking carbon bonds in a rich hydrogen environment) The gas streams that come from these units go to amine treating for sulphur removal The liquid streams either from cracking or simple distillation, are then sent to the hydrotreaters for the removal of sulphur and nitrogen
Micro Filtration There are many applications for micro filtration (typically removing to sub-micron levels in gas phase and up to 100 micron or so at the coarsest level for liquids) including: Lean and Rich Amine Fuel Gas (turbine and general utility) Vapour Recovery Hydrotreater Feed Boiler Feedwater
Two Examples Hydrotreater Feed Fuel Gas
Hydrotreater Feed The sole purpose of filtration is to protect the hydrotreater catalyst from fouling due to solids The catalyst is expensive to replace, partly due to the catalyst cost, but primarily due to lost production while the hydrotreater is down Plants want to run as long as possible, to be activity limited rather than pressure drop limited
Hydrotreater Feed Types Of Filtration There are two general classes of filtration employed disposable filtration, and backwash or regnerable filtration (deep bed/guard reactors are also used but their inclusion is outside the scope of this presentation) In a very general way, if the solids loading is too high, then regenerable filtration is used
Hydrotreater Feed The Negatives The achilles heal of backwash filtration is the backwash liquid and how it is handled (can displace feed to coker, which cuts production), and how quickly the media fouls For disposable filtration, consumption of elements ($) is the concern
Hydrotreater Feed Level Of Filtration The level of filtration varies due to the feed, the type of filtration (backwash requires surface separation), and the type and size of catalyst being protected Filtering to levels above 20 micron or below 150 micron is most common
Fuel Gas We know that over 50%, by weight, of the liquid aerosols typically found in gas phase flow are submicron in size An extremely effective filter is required to separate contaminants at this level as a high degree of separation is required High quality coalescers are employed; with the best over 99.9% efficient in removing of submicron aerosols Otherwise burner tips, and turbines can foul, or worse, catastrophic failure can result due to flame impingement
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage We will focus on one application, boiler feedwater. And it s a big one One stream at one SAGD facility flows at over 3000 gpm (over 680 m 3 /hr) The objective is to provide water that has an acceptable ph, hardness, oil and solids level While the level of filtration to remove solids varies, below 10 micron seems to be a good starting point
Questions? www.fluidclarification.co m 800.665.0276
Water In the Oil Sands: An Essential Resource Patrick Leslie Director of Technology and Innovation Integrated Sustainability Consultants
Mining: 2-4 barrels per barrel ISEC12-122
Oil Sands Mining Recycle Water Water Added Water Added
Tailings Ponds
In situ: 0.5-1 barrel per barrel ISEC12-122
In-situ Process Fresh/Saline Water Supply Water Treatment Recycle Water Treatment Liquid/Solids Waste Disposal Steam Generation Steam Injection Oil/Water Separation Oil to Pipeline Steam Oil/Contamin ates Oil Sands Layer
Monitoring of Water Resources McMurray Formation at Year 20 (4 Mbpd)
Depth to water Risk analysis (vulnerabilities & sensitivities) High Recharge/ discharge areas Low Low Aquifer media Low Rating 10 High High Low High Soil type High High Topography (% slope) 1 Low Low Low Infiltration potential (overburden thickness) High High Conductivity (hydraulic) Low Low High ISEC12-122
Technology Challenges Technology Opportunity
Water In the Oil Sands: An Essential Resource