Ikelic - Alliance Digital Repository

STATUS OF OIL SANDS PROJECTS (Underline denotes changes since June 1994)
R&D PROJECTS (Continued)
SOARS LAKE HEAVY OIL PILOT - Bow River Pipelines Ltd. (T-590)
Amoco Canada in July, 1988 officially opened the company's 16-well heavy oil pilot facilities located on the Elizabeth Metis
Settlement south of Cold Lake. The project is designed to test cyclic steam simulation process.
Amoco Canada had been actively evaluating the heavy oil potential of its Soars Lake leases since 1965 when the company
drilled two successful wells. The heavy oil reservoir at Soars Lake is located in the Sparky formation at a depth of 1,500 feet.
In the summer of 1987, Amoco began drilling 15 slant wells for the project. One vertical well already drilled at the site was in
cluded in the plans. The wells are oriented in a square 10 acre/well pattern along NE-SW rows.
The injection scheme initially called for steaming two wells simultaneously with the project's two 25 MMBTU/hr generators.
However, severe communication developed immediately along the NE-SW direction resulting in production problems. Al
wells'
bot-
though this fracture trend was known to exist, communication was not expected over the 660 feet between the
tomhole locations. Steam splitters were installed to allow steaming of 4 wells simultaneously along the NE-SW direction. Four
cycles of steam injection have been completed and although production problems have decreased,
reservoir performance
remains poor. The short-term strategy for the pilot calls for an extended production cycle to create some voidage in the reser
voir prior to any further steam stimulations.
In 1988 Amoco Canada begqn operating a 16-well cyclic steam project located on the Elizabeth Metis Settlement south of Cold
Lake. Alberta. The project operated until June. 1991 when it was suspended due to poor reservoir performance.
Further to extending the production cycle of the original pilot wells, Amoco Canada began testing the primary production
potential of Soars Lake with six new wells drilled in June 1991.
In 1992 Bow River Pipelines Ltd. acquired all of Amoco's interest in the Soars Lake area and began development of the
property by primary production. The cyclic steam project remains indefinitely suspended.
Project Cost: $40 million
- SOLV-EX MINERALS FROM TAR SANDS RESEARCH Solv-Ex, AOSTRA (T-593)
Solv-Ex was originally organized for the purpose of developing a process to extract bitumen from oil sands. During the 1980s
the company developed and continuously improved a patented process for bitumen extraction. A joint venture with Shell
Canada Limited during 1987 and 1988 successfully processed approximately 1,000 tons of oil sands for bitumen recovery.
Following the joint venture with Shell, Solv-Ex undertook a research and test program for commerical recovery of metals,
primarily aluminum, titanium, and iron, from both oil sands and tailings in an effort to improve the overall economics of
production operations. As a result of such efforts, the company has developed patented process technology which it believes
can be used in commercial operations for recovery of metals, either from tailings generated by others or from primary produc
tion of bitumen from the oil sands.
During 1992 and 1993, the modified company its Albuquerque pilot plant to incorporate the latest improvements in its bitumen
extraction process and to add a circuit for production of minerals from oil sands tailings. Following such work, the company
conducted a pilot program to demonstrate both bitumen extraction and production of minerals from oil sands and tailings.
Approximately 100 tons of tailings and 100 tons of oil sands crude ore were processed during the program, all of which wre ob
tained from the Athabasca region. Work is continuing at the pilot plant, primarily for the purpose of testing further improve
ments which have been made in the process, confirming product purity and evaluating the possibility of producing upgraded
products for specialty markets.
The 1992-1993 pilot program was conducted with the assistance of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority,
which committed to provide $300,000 for the program. The company believes the pilot program has been successful and is now
directing its efforts towards establishing a commercial operation in the Athabasca region for production of bitumen and metals
from existing tailings.
- STEEPBANK PILOT PROJECT Chevron
Canada Resources (T-600)
Chevron Canada Resources'
Steepbank pilot project utilizes the HASDrive (Heated Annulus Steam Drive) process to recover
bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands. The pilot plant is located on Chevron's Steepbank oil sands lease located about
30 miles northeast to Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.
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SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT, JANUARY 1995