Three companies submit oil sands EIAs to Alberta

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 25 -- Korea National Oil Corp., Osum Oil Sands Corp., and Shell Canada Ltd. recently submitted to Alberta environment impact assessment reports concerning planned oil sands projects.

KNOC’s EIA concerns the Blackgold expansion project. The report says KNOC continues to evaluate the potential of 15 sections of oil sands leases, about 10 km southeast of Conklin. Its proposed expansion project is adjacent to and integrated with its initial 10,000 b/d Blackgold project. KNOC holds 100% working interest in the leases and has identified sufficient reserves to support an additional 20,000 b/d of bitumen production over 25 years (2015-40).

KNOC initially plans to drill 28 steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) well pairs from three pads, together with some modification of the central processing facility (CPF) and associated infrastructure to facilitate bitumen recovery on the site and its export off the site either by pipeline or truck. It plans additional production wells and well pads as required to maintain production during the project's life.

Osum's EIA is on its proposed Taiga project about 20 km north of Cold Lake. The project calls for using SAGD for extracting bitumen for much of the development with cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) starting later in the project's life.

Osum plans to install a 35,000 b/d bitumen processing facility and have a 30-year project production life. Pending regulatory approval, Osum expects construction to start in third-quarter 2011 with production starting in second-quarter 2013.

Shell's EIA concerns the Peace River in situ expansion of the Carmon Creek project. Shell continues to evaluate development of its in situ oil sands leases 40 km northeast of Peace River. Shell's Peace River complex is licensed to produce 12,500 b/d of crude bitumen using thermal techniques.

The company initiated development of its Peace River leases in the 1970s and expanded the in situ project in 1985 to its current operating capacity.

Based on its resource delineation and recovery evaluation programs, Shell proposes to increase thermal bitumen production from its Peace River leases to about 80,000 b/d.

It plans to use vertical steam drive thermal enhanced recovery methods to produce the bitumen. The project also may include new central processing facilities, cogeneration of power and steam, multiple well pads, and a steam distribution and bitumen gathering system as wells as additional infrastructure such as roads, natural gas and condensate supply pipelines, a diluted bitumen sales pipeline, and electrical power lines.