Imperial Oil Ltd., Calgary, has let a contract to Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc., Barberton, Ohio, to provide five industrial water-tube boilers for its Aspen oil sands project in Alberta.
Final investment decision to develop the $2.6-billion project—expected to produce 75,000 b/d of bitumen with the potential for further development of as much as another 75,000 b/d of bitumen—was made in early November (OGJ Online, Nov. 7, 2018). The project will include the first major commercial application of next-generation oil sands recovery technology designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions intensity and water use, while improving development economics, Imperial said.
B&W will design and supply the five MCFM 200-120 model boilers, which feature the company’s exclusive multi-circulation boiler technology, and modularized auxiliary components to provide steam for Imperial’s steam-assisted gravity drainage bitumen extraction operation.
Engineering work for the project is currently under way and delivery is scheduled for fourth-quarter 2019 and first-quarter 2020.