Ikelic - Alliance Digital Repository

STATUS OF OIL SANDS PROJECTS (Underline denotes changes since June 1994)
R&D PROJECTS (Continued)
- CELTIC HEAVY OIL PILOT PROJECT Mobil
Oil Canada (T-320)
Mobil's heavy oil project is located in T52 and R23, W3M in the Celtic Field, northeast of Lloydminster. The pilot consisted of
25 wells drilled on 5-acre spacing, with twenty producers and five injectors. There is one nine-
fully developed central inverted
spot surrounded by four partially developed nine-spots. The pilot was to field test a wet combustion scheme with
recovery
steam stimulation of the production wells.
Air injection, which was commenced in October 1980, was discontinued in January 1982 due to operational problems. An inter
mittent steam process was initiated in August 1982. The seventh steam injection cycle commenced in January, 1987. Opera
tions were suspended in 1988-89.
Production in the Celtic Multizone Test, an expansion of the Heavy Oil Pilot, consisting of 16 wells on 20 acre spacing, com
menced with primary production in September, 1988. First cycle steam injection commenced May, 1989. Steam operations
continued until April 1991, and there after, wells were put on production. primary This test operation is now part of the total
Celtic field operation.
Project Cost: $21 million (Canadian) (Capital)
- C-H SYNFUELS DREDGING PROJECT C-H Synfuels Ltd. (T-330)
C-H Synfuels Ltd. plans to construct an oil sands dredging project in Section 8, Township 89, Range 9,
meridian.
west of the 4th
The scheme would involve dredging of a cutoff meander in the Horse River some 900 meters from the Fort McMurray subdivi
sion of Abasand Heights. Extraction of the dredged bitumen would take place on a floating modular process barge employing
a modified version of the Clark Hot Water Process. The resulting bitumen would be stored in tanks, allowed to cool and
solidify, then transported, via truck and barge, to either Suncor or the City of Fort McMurray. Tailings treatment would
employ a novel method combining the sand and sludge, thus eliminating the need for a large conventional tailings pond.
C-H proposes to add lime and a non-toxic polyacrylamide polymer to the tailings stream. This would cause the fines to attach
to the sand eliminating the need for a sludge pond.
Project Cost: Not disclosed
- CIRCLE CLIFFS PROJECT Kirkwood
Oil and Gas (T-340)
Kirkwood Oil and Gas is forming a combined hydrocarbon unit to include all acreage within the Circle Cliffs Special Tar Sand
Area, excluding lands within Capitol Reef National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreational Area.
Work on this project was suspended in 1990 until an Environmental Impact Statement can be completed.
Project Cost: Not disclosed
- COLD LAKE STEAM STIMULATION PROGRAM Mobil Oil Canada (T-350)
A stratigraphic test program conducted on Mobil's 75,000 hectares of heavy oil leases in the Cold Lake area resulted in ap
proximately 150 holes drilled to date. Heavy oil zones with a total net thickness of 30 meters have been delineated at depths
between 290 and 460 meters. This pay is found in sand zones ranging in thickness from 2 to 20 meters.
Single well steam stimulations began in 1982 to evaluate the production potential of these zones. Steam stimulation testing was
subsequently expanded from three single wells to a total of fourteen single wells in 1988. Various zones have been tested in the
Upper and Lower Grand Rapids formation. The test well locations are distributed throughout Mobil's leases in Townships 63
and 64 and Ranges 6 and 7 W4M. Based on encouraging results, the Iron River Pilot (see Iron River Pilot Project (T-440)].
was constructed with operations beginning in March, 1988. To date, steam stimulation tests have been conducted in a total of
14 vertical wells.
Single well tests were suspended at the end of 1991. No further steaming of the single wells is planned. A single zone, conduc
tion assisted steam stimulation in a horizontal well began in mid-1989. This test was successfully completed in 1991. As of
August 1993, the wells are suspended.
Project Cost: Not disclosed
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SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT, JANUARY 1995