Contract let for delayed Alberta bitumen refinery

Dec. 20, 2013
Partners in the North West Redwater Partnership (NWR) have let a services-related contract to a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler for the design and supply of three package steam generating systems to be located at NWR’s Sturgeon bitumen refinery in the Industrial Heartland area of Alberta.

Partners in the North West Redwater Partnership (NWR) have let a services-related contract to a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler for the design and supply of three package steam generating systems to be located at NWR’s Sturgeon bitumen refinery in the Industrial Heartland area of Alberta (OGJ Online, Jan. 28, 2010).

Delivery of the new steam generating systems is scheduled for first-quarter 2015, Foster Wheeler said in a Dec. 19 release.

Neither the terms nor value of the contract were disclosed.

Earlier in the month, NWR partners North West Upgrading Inc. and Canadian Natural Upgrading Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., announced a decision to postpone construction of the first phase of the Sturgeon bitumen refinery due to rising capital costs (OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2013).

Once completed, Phase 1 of the project will be 50,000 b/d and will capture 1.2 million tonnes/year of carbon dioxide to be sold for use in enhanced oil recovery. Two further phases with capacities of 50,000 b/d each also are planned for the refinery

Commissioning of Phase 1 commercial operations currently is planned for September 2017.