Maintenance, repairs reduce Athabasca bitumen production

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Oct. 25 -- Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary, reported that an October reduction of bitumen output from the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in Alberta will extend into November.

The October cutback resulted from scheduled maintenance at the Scotford upgrader in Fort Saskatchewan and planned repairs to settler units at the Muskeg River mine, 75 km north of Fort McMurray.

After the upgrader resumed operation, a catalyst pump inside one of two resid hydrocrackers failed. Shell Canada had to shut down the affected unit and said it expects the associated train to be out of service "for an extended period of time" while repairs are made. The other train remains in service.

Athabasca Oil Sands Project is a joint venture of Shell 60%, Chevron Canada Ltd. 20%, and Western Oil Sands LP 20%.

The project has design capacity of 155,000 b/d of bitumen, although monthly average production has been as high as 182,000 b/d, achieved last August. Shell Canada proposes a series of debottlenecking projects that would raise design capacity to 180,000-200,000 b/d and has further plans to expand capacity to 270,000-290,000 by 2010.