In February 2014, ExxonMobil Corp. issued an updated assay for diluted bitumen from the Kearl oil sands project in Canada's northern Athabasca region, about 47 miles northeast of Fort McMurray, Alta.
Jointly owned by operator Imperial Oil Ltd. and ExxonMobil, production of mined diluted bitumen from the Kearl oil sands began in April 2013 (OGJ, May 6, 2013, Newsletter).
The first oil sands mine project in Alberta that has no upgrader, Kearl uses a proprietary froth treatment technology that enables salable bitumen to be produced with one processing step, with production averaging about 110,000 b/d (OGJ, May 6, 2013, Newsletter).
With an initial develop cost of about $12.9 billion (Can.), an additional $8.9–billion expansion project sanctioned in 2011 is to boost production a further 110,000 b/d by late 2015 (OGJ, Feb. 11, 2013, Newsletter; OGJ Online, Jan. 19, 2012).
Imperial expects future debottlenecking to raise output to about 345,000 b/d by 2020 and estimates ultimate recovery of 4.6 billion bbl of bitumen over more than 40 years (OGJ, May 6, 2013, Newsletter).
Because the project requires no upgrader, Kearl's lifecycle emissions of greenhouse gases will be comparable to those of many other crude oils processed in the US, according to project partner ExxonMobil.
Market access
With an API gravity of 22.6° and containing 3.4 wt % sulfur, Kearl is an attractive coking crude ideal for refineries configured to process heavy oil and bitumen. Currently, volumes are available for transport via pipeline directly to refiners in the US Midwest and Gulf Coast as well as to Western Canada for export via tanker to refineries in Asia–Pacific.
In January 2014, Imperial and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP formed a 50–50 joint venture to build a crude oil rail–loading terminal in Strathcona County, Alta., called the Edmonton Rail Terminal. Imperial will be the base load customer for the terminal and has subscribed for the start–up capacity through a long–term contract.
The terminal's design calls for a crude oil loading terminal capable of loading 1–3 unit trains/day for a combined 100,000 b/d initially, with the potential to expand to 250,000 b/d.
Imperial said it will use the terminal for current and future production from Kearl, including an expansion scheduled for late–2015 start–up (OGJ, Jan. 6, 2014, Newsletter).
Imperial holds a 70.96% interest in the Kearl project and is the operator. ExxonMobil, which owns 69.6% of Imperial, holds the remaining 29.04% Kearl interest through ExxonMobil Canada Properties, a wholly owned subsidiary.
Whole crude
Yield on crude, vol %: 100.00
Gravity, °API: 22.59
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 0.9183
Carbon, wt %: 84.26
Hydrogen, wt %: 12.06
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 1.954
Sulfur, wt %: 3.3811
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 89.5
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: 212.13
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: 71.91
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: 46.39
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 10.01
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 4.07
Paraffins, vol %: 20.55
Naphthenes, vol %: 24.30
Aromatics, vol %: 24.24
Pour point, °F.: < –33
Nitrogen, ppm: 3,212.2
Conradson carbon residue, wt %: 8.91
n–Heptane insolubles, wt %: 4.0
Nickel, ppm: 40.7
Vanadium, ppm: 113.2
Calcium, ppm: 15
Reid vapor pressure, kPa: 3.7
Salt content, lb/bbl: 8.9
Distillation type, D–: 1,160
ASTM distillation, °F.–IBP: 58.1
5 vol % recovered: 84.9
10 vol % recovered: 119.9
20 vol % recovered: 235.6
30 vol % recovered: 519.1
40 vol % recovered: 650.7
50 vol % recovered: 774.4
60 vol % recovered: 898.2
70 vol % recovered: 1,006.7
80 vol % recovered: 1,119.2
90 vol % recovered: 1,232.2
95 vol % recovered: 1,314.5
End point, °F: 1,411.0
Butanes and lighter
Yield on crude, vol %: 0.77
Gravity, °API: 117.54
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 0.5682
Carbon, wt %: 82.91
Hydrogen, wt %: 17.07
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 0.042
Sulfur, wt %: 0.0117
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 111.9
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: 0.35
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: 0.30
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: 0.28
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 0.21
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 0.17
Paraffins, vol %: 100.00
Light naphtha
Yield on crude, vol %: 11.76
Gravity, °API: 83.10
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 0.6594
Carbon, wt %: 83.82
Hydrogen, wt %: 16.16
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 0.042
Sulfur, wt %: 0.0177
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 161.90
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: 0.39
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: 0.34
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: 0.31
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 0.23
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 0.18
Paraffins, vol %: 90.60
Naphthenes, vol %: 8.77
Aromatics, vol %: 0.63
Distillation type, D–: 86
ASTM distillation, °F.–IBP: 99.0
5 vol % recovered: 104.2
10 vol % recovered: 107.0
20 vol % recovered: 107.8
30 vol % recovered: 114.8
40 vol % recovered: 119.6
50 vol % recovered: 120.8
60 vol % recovered: 122.8
70 vol % recovered: 126.2
80 vol % recovered: 132.9
90 vol % recovered: 138.2
95 vol % recovered: 142.8
End point, °F: 147.0
Heavy naphtha
Yield on crude, vol %: 10.78
Gravity, °API: 56.60
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 0.7522
Carbon, wt %: 85.98
Hydrogen, wt %: 13.95
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 0.051
Sulfur, wt %: 0.0723
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 268.2
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: 0.66
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: 0.55
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: 0.50
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 0.34
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 0.25
Cetane index: 25.9
Paraffins, vol %: 50.68
Naphthenes, vol %: 34.70
Aromatics, vol %: 14.21
Heat of combustion, net, btu/lb: 18,589
Pour point, °F.: < –71
Cloud point, °F.: < –76
Freeze point, °F.: < –112.0
Smoke point, mm: 23.0
Distillation type, D–: 86
ASTM distillation, °F.–IBP: 200.5
5 vol % recovered: 204.1
10 vol % recovered: 205.9
20 vol % recovered: 209.2
30 vol % recovered: 214.0
40 vol % recovered: 218.8
50 vol % recovered: 225.6
60 vol % recovered: 234.4
70 vol % recovered: 245.2
80 vol % recovered: 259.2
90 vol % recovered: 277.4
95 vol % recovered: 289.3
End point, °F: 304.5
Kerosine
Yield on crude, vol %: 3.93
Gravity, °API: 40.32
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 0.8235
Carbon, wt %: 86.25
Hydrogen, wt %: 13.42
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 0.149
Sulfur, wt %: 0.3283
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 174.1
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: 2.05
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: 1.46
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: 1.27
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 0.73
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 0.49
Cetane index: 38.4
Paraffins, vol %: 38.68
Naphthenes, vol %: 42.58
Aromatics, vol %: 10.84
Heat of combustion, net, btu/lb: 18,469
Pour point, °F.: < –71
Cloud point, °F.: –64
Freeze point, °F.: –56.3
Naphthalenes, vol %: 0.8
Smoke point, mm: 21.8
Aniline point, °F.: 135.5
Nitrogen, ppm: 0.7
Distillation type, D–: 86
ASTM distillation, °F.–IBP: 364.0
5 vol % recovered: 367.7
10 vol % recovered: 368.6
20 vol % recovered: 372.5
30 vol % recovered: 378.9
40 vol % recovered: 387.5
50 vol % recovered: 396.7
60 vol % recovered: 407.5
70 vol % recovered: 418.0
80 vol % recovered: 427.7
90 vol % recovered: 436.2
95 vol % recovered: 440.9
End point, °F: 444.8
Diesel
Yield on crude, vol %: 9.69
Gravity, °API: 26.89
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 0.8934
Carbon, wt %: 86.32
Hydrogen, wt %: 12.22
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 1.394
Sulfur, wt %: 1.4453
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 194.5
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: 17.44
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: 7.90
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: 5.79
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 2.02
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 1.10
Cetane index: 40.2
Paraffins, vol %: 11.92
Naphthenes, vol %: 57.85
Aromatics, vol %: 24.94
Pour point, °F.: –47
Cloud point, °F.: –31
Freeze point, °F.: –25.1
Naphthalenes, vol %: 2.4
Smoke point, mm: 15.4
Aniline point, °F.: 136.9
Nitrogen, ppm: 101.9
Conradson carbon residue, wt %: 0.01
n–Heptane insolubles, wt %: < 0.1
Nickel, ppm: < 0.1
Vanadium, ppm: < 0.1
Distillation type, D–: 86
ASTM distillation, °F.–IBP: 509.8
5 vol % recovered: 517.7
10 vol % recovered: 524.0
20 vol % recovered: 535.9
30 vol % recovered: 546.0
40 vol % recovered: 554.9
50 vol % recovered: 561.0
60 vol % recovered: 568.7
70 vol % recovered: 576.3
80 vol % recovered: 584.6
90 vol % recovered: 592.6
95 vol % recovered: 597.4
End point, °F: 601.4
Vacuum gas oil
Yield on crude, vol %: 31.07
Gravity, °API: 14.09
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 0.9719
Carbon, wt %: 85.13
Hydrogen, wt %: 11.33
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 3.393
Sulfur, wt %: 3.3449
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 199.2
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: 2,208.47
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: 326.26
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: 156.07
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 14.49
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 4.24
Paraffins, vol %: 3.05
Naphthenes, vol %: 30.73
Aromatics, vol %: 31.18
Pour point, °F.: 40
Aniline point, °F.: 130.8
Nitrogen, ppm: 1,895.0
Conradson carbon residue, wt %: 0.96
n–Heptane insolubles, wt %: < 0.1
Nickel, ppm: 0.2
Vanadium, ppm: 0.4
Distillation type, D–: 1,160
ASTM distillation, °F.–IBP: 693.1
5 vol % recovered: 698.8
10 vol % recovered: 714.1
20 vol % recovered: 743.3
30 vol % recovered: 772.7
40 vol % recovered: 802.1
50 vol % recovered: 831.9
60 vol % recovered: 860.5
70 vol % recovered: 888.4
80 vol % recovered: 916.1
90 vol % recovered: 940.5
95 vol % recovered: 954.7
End point, °F: 971.2
Vacuum residue
Yield on crude, vol %: 31.99
Gravity, °API: 4.04
Specific gravity, 60° F.: 1.0440
Carbon, wt %: 82.44
Hydrogen, wt %: 11.06
Total acid no., mg KOH/g: 1.673
Sulfur, wt %: 5.8068
Mercaptan sulfur, ppm: 197.8
Viscosity at 20° C., cst: < 300,000.00
Viscosity at 40° C., cst: < 300,000.00
Viscosity at 50° C., cst: < 300,000.00
Viscosity at 100° C., cst: 28,019.63
Viscosity at 150° C., cst: 722.11
Paraffins, vol %: 0.09
Naphthenes, vol %: 8.44
Aromatics, vol %: 31.58
Pour point, °F.: 145
Nitrogen, ppm: 6,931.3
Conradson carbon residue, wt %: 23.54
n–Heptane insolubles, wt %: 8.3
Nickel, ppm: 121.3
Vanadium, ppm: 326.6
Distillation type, D–: 1,160
ASTM distillation, °F.–IBP: 1,040.0
5 vol % recovered: 1,045.3
10 vol % recovered: 1,060.9
20 vol % recovered: 1,094.1
30 vol % recovered: 1,129.7
40 vol % recovered: 1,168.7
50 vol % recovered: 1,210.8
60 vol % recovered: 1,257.3
70 vol % recovered: 1,303.9
80 vol % recovered: 1,351.6
90 vol % recovered: 1,397.8
95 vol % recovered: 1,425.7
End point, °F: 1,459.4
