Www.choa.ab.ca Canadian Heavy Oil Association Eugene Dembicki Director, Canadian Heavy Oil Association Manager, Suncor Energy Inc. An Overview of Alberta

www.choa.ab.ca

Canadian Heavy Oil Association

Eugene DembickiDirector, Canadian Heavy Oil Association

Manager, Suncor Energy Inc.

An Overview of Alberta Oil Sandsand Recovery Technologies

XVIII Latin American Petroleum ShowMaracaibo, Venezuela

June 11-14, 2007


Introduction

Oil Resources• Global• Canadian

Heavy Oil Properties Geology of the Athabasca Oil Sands Deposit

• McMurray Formation - largest oil resource in Canada Recovery Methods

• Surface Mining Truck & Shovel

• In-situ CHOP (Cold Heavy Oil Production) CHOPS (Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand) CSS (Cyclic Steam Stimulation) SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) VAPEX (Vapor Extraction) THAI (Toe-to-Heel Air Injection)


Resources


Saudi Arabia

IraqIran

Kuwait Abu Dhabi

VenezuelaRussia

Libya NigeriaUSA

Canada

Resources


Production


Production

60% production from mining (121,000 m3/day; 760,000 bpd)

40% production from in-situ (78,500 m3/day; 490,000 bpd)

Source: AEUB


Production

Source: AEUB


Athabasca Oil Sands

Thick, sticky mixture of sand, water, and bitumen

About 7 degrees API

Immobile at reservoir conditions (8-9 deg. C)

Unconsolidated – very porous & permeable

Exploited by mining & in-situ techniques Photo courtesy of Suncor Energy Inc.

Heavy Oil Properties


Bitumen Viscosity – heat or diluent will reduce viscosity

90°C

10°C



Location

Oil sands production now exceeds one million barrels per day.

Forecast 4.5 million bpd by 2015

$45 billion spent from 1996-2005.

$60 billion in new oil sands projects expected between 2006 & 2010.

Exploited by mining & in-situ techniques



Alberta Bitumen Volumes in billion m3 (AEUB, June 2004)

Category Mineable In Situ Total

Initial volume in place 18.0 240.9 258.90

Initial established 5.59 22.80 28.39

Initial established under development

1.74 0.65 2.39

Cumulative production 0.46 0.21 0.67

Remaining established 5.13 22.60 27.73

Remaining established under development

1.28 0.44 1.72



Challenge

Bitumen Synthetic Crude Oil



Geology


Athabasca Oil SandsMcMurray Formation - Athabasca River

Geology

Photo courtesy of Suncor Energy Inc.


Athabasca Oil SandsMcMurray Formation - Shale Plug


Next Slide

Geology


Rich Oil Sand

Channel Margin (Interbedded/Mixed Oil Sand)

Shale Plug (Non-Reservoir)


Athabasca Oil SandsMcMurray Formation - Shale Plug

Geology


McMurray Fm. – Depositional Model

Overbank: Non-reservoir

Pond Mud

Crevasse Splay

Geology



Bank Collapse - breccia

Channel – Oil Sand


Geology



Tidal Flat – Non reservoir


Geology


Marine mud - Non reservoir


Athabasca Oil Sands DepositMcMurray Formation

Surface Mining

Source: AEUB


Surface Mining

10% of the Athabasca Deposit is mineable

18 billion m3 in place

0.46 billion m3 produced

3 mines in operation

• Syncrude, Suncor, Shell

• 121,000 m3/day

• 760,000 bpd

Photo courtesy of Nexen Inc.


Athabasca Oil Sands DepositMcMurray Formation

Surface Mining


Surface Mining

Truck & Shovel400 ton truck = 100 barrels of bitumen


Oil Sands Truck & Operator

Surface Mining


Company Project Size (bpd) On Production

Albian/Shell Muskeg/Jackpine 160,000 nowSuncor Base Plant 260,000 nowSyncrude Base Plant 300,000 nowCNRL Horizon 110,000 2008Imperial Kearl Like 100,000 2010PetroCan Fort Hills 50,000 2011

Surface Mining


In-Situ Recovery Methods

Cold HO Production (CHOP)

• Primary

Conventional

Horwells & Multilaterals

• Waterfloods

High WOR Operations

Conventional

Horwells & Multilaterals

• Solvent Flooding

CHOPS

• Primary with Sand Production

• Infill drilling for by-passed oil

• Post CHOPS EOR

Cyclical Steam Stimulation

• Conventional CSS

• CSS with non-conventional wells (Multi-laterals & U)

• CSS with solvent

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)

• Immobile Bitumen

• Excellent pay zones

Solvent AGD (VAPEX – Nsolv)

In-situ Combustion

• Conventional (Shut-down)

• Toe to Heel Air Injection (THAI) Pilot

In-Situ


Cold Heavy Oil Production (CHOP)

Rod Pumps & Sand Control Technology

• Slow rod fall rates

• Long stoke units

• Low pump rates

•Gas locking problems

•Problems with sand

• Wear of pump

• Stuck pumps

• Stuck tubing

• Fill in casing

•Low rates; rapid declines; & high water-cuts

In-Situ


Canada

U.S.A.

Calgary

Edmonton

PEACERIVER

COLD LAKE

ATHABASCA

LLOYDMINSTER

100 mile

125 km

WABASCA

ALBERTA

In-Situ

Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS)

Typical Cold Production History


• High Permeability Channels Developed – “wormholes” much greater reservoir contact

• Large Local Drawdown at End of Channels high pressure gradients which moves the sand 5-20% sand production

• Substantial Increase in Oil rates (10X)• Successful Commercial Process

Depth ~400-600 m

Thickness 2-7 m

In-Situ

Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS)


• Tech. transfer from mining & food processing in ‘80’s

• Rotate rods to drive downhole pump.

• Molded rubber stator & spiral stainless steel rotor.

• Capable of pumping a slurry & handling sand.

• Wells that produced sand had better oil rates & recoveries.

In-Situ

Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS)Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP) or Screw


Canada

U.S.A.

Calgary

Edmonton

PEACERIVER

COLD LAKE

ATHABASCA

LLOYDMINSTER

100 mile

125 km

WABASCA

ALBERTA

In-Situ

Cold Lake Oil Sands DepositClearwater Formation (CSS, SAGD)

Source: AEUB


CSS –Well established & most universally applicable EOR process

• California

• Venezuela

• Indonesia

• China

• Canada

Inject: 14 – 60 days

Soak: 1- 7 days

Prod: 90 – 180 days

Requires some oil mobility (20,000 to 500,000 cp)

In-Situ

Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS)


Canada

U.S.A.

Calgary

Edmonton

PEACERIVER

COLD LAKE

ATHABASCA

LLOYDMINSTER

100 mile

125 km

WABASCA

ALBERTA Imperial Oil Cold Lake Project Production

In-Situ



Canada

U.S.A.

Calgary

Edmonton

PEACERIVER

COLD LAKE

ATHABASCA

LLOYDMINSTER

100 mile

125 km

WABASCA

ALBERTA

In-Situ

Peace River Oil Sands DepositBluesky Formation (CSS, SAGD, CHOP)


Canada

U.S.A.

Calgary

Edmonton

PEACERIVER

COLD LAKE

ATHABASCA

LLOYDMINSTER

100 mile

125 km

WABASCA

ALBERTA

In-Situ



AOSTRA Dover UTF Project

In-Situ

Canada

U.S.A.

Calgary

Edmonton

PEACERIVER

COLD LAKE

ATHABASCA

LLOYDMINSTER

100 mile

125 km

WABASCA

ALBERTA


1st SAGD Wells in Canada (1997)

• 3 well pairs – 60 m

Drill horizontal wells into the oil from tunnels in the limestone below the oil sand


In-Situ


Horizontal length: 750 – 1200 m

Vertical separation: 5 – 6 m

TVD: 90 – 400 m

Rate: 100 – 400 m3/day (700 – 2500 bpd)

Steam Oil Ratio: 2 – 4

Current Production: 20,000 m3/day (125,000 bpd)


In-Situ

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)Example of SAGD Pads



In-Situ

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)SAGD Well Pad



Photo Courtesy of Nexen from Long Lake

In-Situ

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)SAGD Well Pad – Slant Wellheads


Company Project Size (mbopd) On Production

ConocoPhillips Surmont 100 2006-2012Total Joslyn 45 2010Devon Jackfish 35 2008Encana Christina Lake 18 2008Encana Foster Creek 40 - 60 nowHusky Sunrise 50 - 200 2008 - Husky Tucker Lake 30 2006JACOS Hangingstone 10 nowMEG Energy Christina Lake 25 2008North American Kai Kos Dehseh 10 2008 Petro Canada MacKay River 30 - 74 now - 2010OPTI/Nexen Long Lake 72 2007Suncor Firebag I &2 70 now

In-Situ

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)Alberta Projects


In-Situ

Vapor Extraction Process (VAPEX)

• Large scale lab & field pilots are under-way.

• Results are generally classified as confidential


• 3 well pilot

• started mid-2006

• > 160 m3/day

• >1000 bpd

In-Situ

Toe to Heel Air Injection (THAI)Petrobank Whitesands Project

Photo Courtesy of Petrobank


GradeAPI

GravityViscosity

(CP)Production

MethodRecoveryPercent

1) Transportation

A 18 – 25 10 – 1004) Cold

Production 5 – 10 Flows

B2)

7 – 20 100 – 104

Cold Production 3 – 8

Diluent may be needed

C 7 – 12 > 104

(1) CSS Huff / Puff 15 – 20 Diluent

(2) SAGD 40 – 80 Diluent

D < 4 > 104 Mining3)

80 – 90 N/A

1) Lower gravity equates to higher cost of diluent. Cost of this step can be up to $4/bbl.2) The lower gravity range is cold producible only when thermal gradients are high, as in the Orinoco.3) Recoveries are high but only about 10% of the reserves are accessible to normal mining.4) In rare instances steam sweeps are used simply to increase recoveries to the 60% level.

Bitumen Recovery Summary


Supply Costs


ConclusionConclusion

Alberta Heavy Oil IndustryAlberta Heavy Oil Industry• Large Resource

• Production is Increasing

• Mining

• In-situ (CSS & SAGD)

• Modern Technology & Research

• Service & Suppliers

• www.eub.ca/docs/products/STs/st98_2007.pdf

• www.choa.ab.ca


Gracias!Gracias!

Questions?Questions?

Documents

Www.choa.ab.ca Canadian Heavy Oil Association Eugene Dembicki Director, Canadian Heavy Oil Association Manager, Suncor Energy Inc. An Overview of Alberta