Long Lake (oil sands)

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  2. Athabasca Oil Sands
  3. Oil fields of Alberta
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  5. Airports in Alberta
  6. Heliports in Canada


The Long Lake oil sands project is an in situ oil extraction project 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Fort McMurray in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta. The project is a joint venture between Nexen, with a 65% interest, and OPTI Canada, with the remaining 35%.[1] Phase 1 of the project is currently operational and when at full capacity is expected to produce 72,000 barrels per day of bitumen, which is to be upgraded on site into 58,500 barrels per day of "Premium Synthetic Crude", a product that does not need to be diluted to transport in pipelines and fetches a higher price at refineries.[2] The project aims to use a proprietary technology called "OrCrude" to extract gas from produced bitumen which is then used to heat the steam for injection and as a source of hydrogen for hydrocracking. The owners hope this will greatly reduce their need to purchase natural gas for operation.[1]

The project has been plagued with technical problems and has failed to meet production projections. As of early 2011, the site was producing about 30,000 barrels per day and OPTI was struggling under a heavy debt load and lack of liquidity. On February 1, 2011, OPTI appointed Lazard Freres & Co., a bankruptcy specialist, raising speculation that restructuring or bankruptcy for the company was imminent.[3][4]

Anzac (Long Lake) Heliport
IATA: none – ICAO: none – TC LID: CNZ2
Summary
Airport type Private
Owner/Operator Nexen Inc.
Location Anzac
Elevation AMSL 1,612 ft / 491 m
Coordinates 56°25′27″N 110°57′52″W / 56.42417°N 110.96444°W / 56.42417; -110.96444Coordinates: 56°25′27″N 110°57′52″W / 56.42417°N 110.96444°W / 56.42417; -110.96444{{#coordinates:56|25|27|N|110|57|52|W|type:airport_region:CA-AB primary name=

}}

Map
Location in Alberta
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
1 105 × 162 32 × 49 Asphalt
Source: Canada Flight Supplement[5]

History

The first phase of the project received regulatory approval in 2003 and was sanctioned in 2004. Construction at the site began in 2004. Steam injection began in 2007 and the first production was in 2008.[6]

Phase 2 of the project, expected to add a similar upgrader and have similar SAGD production as Phase 1, was approved in April, 2010.[7] A third phase is also planned for the Long Lake location. Following this, three more phases are planned in other locations: two in the Leismer area and one in the Cottonwood area.[2]

Process

The Long Lake project uses steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) to extract bitumen from the underground oil sands. The process involves using two separate horizontal wells into the reservoir. One well is used to inject steam, which reduces the viscosity of the bitumen. The previously stable bitumen then drains into the second well, which extracts it to the surface.

Steam-assisted gravity drainage is typically a high-cost process, due to the energy costs in generating the steam. The Long Lake project intends to avoid these costs through the use of OPTI's proprietary OrCrude process, which refines by-products of the extracted bitumen into usable fuel, which is used to generate steam. This process also generates hydrogen, which fuels the refinement of extracted bitumen through hydrocracking.

Ownership

The Long Lake project was originally developed as a 50/50 partnership between Nexen and OPTI.[8] In January 2009, OPTI divested 15% working interest in the project to Nexen for $735 million.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Long Lake". Company homepage. Nexen. http://www.nexeninc.com/en/Operations/OilSands/LongLake.aspx. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Oil Sands Review". Company homepage. OPTI Canada Inc. http://www.opticanada.com/projects/oil_sands_overview/. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  3. ↑ Cattaneo, Claudia (2 February 2011). "Hard lessons for OPTI in the oil sands". Financial Post. http://www.financialpost.com/news/features/Hard+lessons+OPTI+sands/4213400/story.html. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  4. ↑ Kiladze, Tim (2 February 2011). "OPTI’s future looking bleak". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/optis-future-looking-bleak/article1891979/. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  5. ↑ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 30 June 2011 to 0901Z 25 August 2011
  6. ↑ "Phase One". Company homepage. Nexen. http://www.nexeninc.com/en/Operations/OilSands/LongLake/PhaseOne.aspx. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Regulatory Approval Granted for $1.3 Billion Phase II Fort McMurray Long Lake Upgrader Expansion". April 6, 2010. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Regulatory-Approval-Granted-13-Billion-Phase-II-Fort-McMurray-Long-Lake-Upgrader-1142847.htm. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "OPTI sells 15% stake in joint venture to Nexen". Financial Post (Toronto). December 17, 2008. http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1085699.
  9. ↑ "OPTI Divests 15% Working Interest in its Oil Sands Joint Venture for $735 Million" (Press release). OPTI Canada. December 17, 2008. http://www.opticanada.com/investors/news/index.php?date=2008&news_id=c2586. Retrieved May 7, 2010.

External links


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