By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 11 -- BA Energy Inc. awarded a contract to a Canadian subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Pasadena, Calif., to perform front-end and detail engineering, procurement, and construction management services for Phase I of its grassroots Heartland Upgrader Project in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
The upgrader, which ultimately will be capable of processing 226,000 b/d of bitumen blends from Athabasca oil sands mining and in situ operations, will be built in three phases, with the first phase scheduled for operations in 2007.
This facility, which will produce light to medium, semisour crude blends suitable for the majority of existing North American refineries, will use proprietary technologies developed by BA Energy's parent company, Value Creation Inc.
The upgrader is the first in a series of projects planned by BA Energy and other Value Creation Group members to accelerate the development of western Canada's oil sands and heavy oil resources.
Economic upgrading is considered a key hurdle for sustained development of Alberta's oil sands resources, estimated to contain 1.6 trillion bbl of crude bitumen in place.