Oil Sands
by Scott Echols
Canada is now the largest source of imported petroleum for the United States1. The Canadian oil sands contain billions of barrels of thick, heavy oil known as bitumen, which at 80ºC has a viscosity similar to molasses.
Video: The Alberta Oil Sands, A World of Opportunity
by Alberta Energy
5:25-6:15 demonstrates SAGD technique
(Total running time approximately 18 minutes)
Bitumen is caught up in the sand at varying levels below the ground surface. Deposits that are close to the surface are easily mined, while other, deeper deposits require an in situ technique—such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD)—to recover the bitumen. The SAGD technique injects steam underground to heat the oil sands formation. The resulting bitumen/water emulsion is then pumped above ground where the bitumen and water are separated. The water is treated to remove oil, calcium, magnesium, and silica so it can be reused to produce steam.
The ASL staff in Corvallis, Oregon, has worked closely with CH2M HILL’s Industrial Systems Business Group process engineers and OMI water treatment specialists to provide onsite analytical support for SAGD operations at several facilities near the town of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, Canada.
Services provided include:
- Analysis of process control samples
- Laboratory design and startup
- Laboratory equipment specification and purchasing
- Analytical technique training
- Standard operating procedure and quality assurance plan preparation
- Laboratory management
- Treatability/proof-of-concept testing
The challenges at the SAGD sites include:
- Analytical difficulties presented by the oily sample matrix
- -40ºC winter temperatures
- Mud
- Snow
- Dust
- Large mosquitoes
- Long trips over gravel roads
- Lack of next-day supply delivery
Our analyses have spanned the range from relatively simple pH and conductivity measurements to more complex atomic absorption measurements for metals.
CH2M HILL Staff
Ten full-time CH2M HILL Canada chemistry staff are working at project sites near Fort McMurray:
- Natalie Aitken
- Christabelle Bankam
- Ferris Chiasson
- Dave Harris
- Nicholai Kristel
- Danielle Rudderham
- Lakshmi Sankaran
- Ben Sheng
- Holly Wang
- Xuwen Wei
Numerous chemists have also been extensively involved working at oil sands project sites over the past 4 years.
From ASL:
- Mark Boedigheimer
- Kasey Carlson
- Anthony Dalton-Atha
- Scott Echols
- Tim Maloney
- Regan McMorris
- Amber Taylor
- Liz Tepper
- Ashley Wille
Firmwide:
- Jamie Beckett/RDD
- Shawn Duffy/RDD
- Jessica Kastanek/DEN
- Berney Kidd/RDD
- Kevin Sanders/GNV