Ikelic - Alliance Digital Repository

STATUS OF OIL SANDS PROJECTS (Underline denotes changes since June 1994)
COMMERCIAL PROJECTS (Continued)
AEC expects its share of Primrose heavy oil production to grow to about 10,000 barrels per day
double by the late 1990s.
over the next 5 years and
Using a newly developed "cold
140 barrels per day per well. This technique significantly reduces capital and costs operating as compared to steam injection
production"
technique, four wells have been producing for more than a year at rates averaging
techniques. Further testing of this technology continues in 1992.
AEC estimates that cold production technology could yield 6,000 barrels per day by 1993,
12,500 barrels per day in 1995.
Project Cost: $1.2 billion (Canadian) capital cost
$140 million (Canadian) annual operating cost
- SCOTFORD SYNTHETIC CRUDE REFINERY Shell Canada Limited (T-180)
with a planned expansion to
The project is the world's first refinery designed to use exclusively synthetic crude oil as feedstock, located northeast of Fort
Saskatchewan in Strathcona County.
Initial capacity was 50,000 barrels per day with the design allowing for expansion to 70,000 barrels per day. Feedstock is
provided by the two existing oil sands plants, Syncrude and Suncor. The refinery's petroleum products are gasoline, diesel, jet
fuel and stove oil. Byproducts include butane, propane, and sulfur. Sufficient benzene is produced to feed a 300,000
tonne/year styrene plant. The refinery and petrochemical plant officially opened September 1984.
Project Cost: $1.4 billion (Canadian) total final cost for all (refinery, benzene, styrene) plants
- SOLV-EX/UNITED TRI-STAR OILSAND AGREEMENT Solv-Ex
Corporation and United Tri-Star Resources. Ltd. (T-185)
Solv-Ex Corporation and United Tri-Star Resource. Ltd. have agreed to form a joint venture in oil sands development. Part of
this agreement involves the development of a 5.000 barrel /day test plant at the Solv-Ex oilsands lease in Alberta. Canada.
About one-half year is estimated for the preconstruction work of the test plant. The joint venture also plans to market the
Solv-Ex oilsand technology in Australia.
Project Cost: $3 million (Canadian) (United Tri-Star contribution of the preconstruction costs')
- SUNCOR, INC., OIL SANDS GROUP Sun
Company, Inc. 55 percent, 25 percent by public shareholders (T-190)
Suncor Inc. was formed in August 1979, by the amalgamation of Great Canadian Oil Sands and Sun Oil Co, Ltd.
Suncor Inc. operates a commercial oil sands plant located in the Athabasca oilsands deposit 30 kilometers north of Fort
McMurray, Alberta. It has been in production since 1967. A four-step method is used to produce synthetic oil. First, overbur
den is removed to expose the oil-bearing sand. Second, the sand is mined and transported by conveyors to the extraction plant.
Third, hot water and steam are used to extract the bitumen from the sand. Fourth, the bitumen goes to upgrading where ther
mal cracking produces coke, and cooled vapors form distillates. The distillates are desulfurized and blended to form high-
quality synthetic crude oil which is shipped to Edmonton for distribution.
The plant achieved record production levels in 1994. averaging 70.700 barrels per day for the year. Cash operating costs in 1994
were C$14.00 per barrel. In 1994. cash flow from operations increased 75%.
Reliability improvements and conversion to a more flexible mining technology contributed to higher levels of productivity.
Suncor is also enhancing shareholder value by diversifying its product and customer base.
Suncor plans to spend $250 million over the next three years to increase production to more than 80.000 barrels per day in
1998. At the same time, this investment is expected to lower unit costs and create the infrastructure for subsequent growth.
Production increases will be staged to ensure the operation remains safe, reliable and environmentally sound. In 1994. they in
vested $40 million in improvements in the upgrader to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. An additional $150 million will be
spent in the utility plant over the next two years to achieve a cumulative 75% plant-wide reduction in SO emissions-
Over the next five years. Suncor plans to spend approximately $200 million to develop a new mine site on a recently acquired
lease and conduct an environmental impact assessment. Work will proceed when final approval from the board of directors
and provincial regulatory agencies is received.
Project Cost: Not disclosed
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SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT. JANUARY 1995