Reservoir Engineering – 1

Lab Project Presentation

Syed Ali Hadi Naqvi (2014-PET-28)
(Project Leader)

M. Adeem Abbas (2014-PET-01)

Ahmad Hassan (2014-PET-13)

Saddam Hussain (2014-PET-51)

» Introduction
» Production Techniques
» Transportation
» Upgrading
» Economic Analysis
» Environmental Impacts
» Conclusion
» References
» What are oil sands?

» Bitumen: Oil having a viscosity greater than

10,000 centipoise under reservoir conditions
and an API gravity of less than 10° API

» Not tar sands!!

Fig.1: Composition of oil Sands1

1. Courtesy: Alberta Energy, Canada. http://www.energy.alberta.ca/
» Resources around the globe.

» Athabasca deposit in Alberta, Canada

» 97 percent of Canada’s 172.5 billion

barrels of proven oil reserves.

Fig.2: The Athabasca deposit breakdown [2]

2. Natural Resources Canada https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/
» Main Types:

 Surface Mining

 In situ Combustion

 Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage

 Cyclic Steam Injection

» Used when deposits lie within 70
meters (200 feet) of the earth’s
surface.

» Treatment

» Tailings

Fig.3: Surface mining process [3]

3. http://futureoffuel.weebly.com/description.html
Used for deep oil sands deposits
 Fig.5: SAGD schematic [5]

Fig.4: SAGD mechanism [4]

4. http://www.harvestenergy.ca/

5. http://www.geogroup.utoronto.ca/
 » It is a “single well” process and consists of three stages,

 Injection
 Soaking
 Production

Fig.7: CSS production rate vs. Fig.6: CSS mechanism [6]

time [7]
6. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/graphics
7. Applied Enhanced Oil Recovery - Aurel Carcoana
 » Three main modes:

 Pipelines
 Rails
 Marines

» In 2015, 3.9 million barrels of

Canadian crude were safely
transported.

Fig.8: Oil Pipelines across Canada & USA [8]

8. https://www.2b1stconsulting.com/one-day-one-country-canada-4/
» Three step process consisting of,

 Segregation
 Catalytic Purification
 Hydrogenation or Catalytic Hydrocracking
Current Scenario and Future Projection
 » Market driven supply cost
 World’s highest price oil.

» WTI price Requirement:

 In situ projects $70–80/bbl

 Mining projects $85–100/bbl

Fig.9: Oil sands supply cost [9]

9. National Energy Board, CERI, Oil Sands Magazine

 » High-grading
 Higher steam-to-oil (SOR) ratios
 Higher gathering and piping costs

S
O
R

Fig.10: SOR comparison for SAGD & CSS [10]

10. BMO Capital Markets Oil Sands Monthly, September 2015.
 Fig.11: Production comparison of In Situ methods [11]

11. BMO Capital Markets Oil Sands Monthly, September 2015.

 » Currency exchange
» Royalties
» Work force
» Geological features of area

Fig.12: Pipelines installation parameters for

various fields [12]
12. J. Peter Findly (2015). “The future of Canadian Oil Sands”.
 » Decreases drilling activities.
» Major project cancellation.

Fig.13: Major oil and gas projects

13. ARC Financial Corp. “The Fiscal Pulse of Canada’s Oil and Gas Industry- cancellation in 2015 [13]
1st Quarter 2015”.
» Increase in oil consumption

» In 2015, oil sands contributed;

 60% of Canadian oil production
 $23 billion economy

» Investment opportunities

» Projected Growth (2015-2035):

 Jobs:151,000 to over 350,000
 US$ 4 trillion will be contributed to the Canadian economy
Causes, Effects and Solutions
 » Active mining area: 904 km2

» 0.02% of Canada’s Boreal forest

» Tailing ponds
 Fluid tailings

» Reclamation
 Time requiring procedure
 Reclamation certificate
Fig.14: Oil Sands land status [14]

14. http://www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/explore-topics/land-
reclamation
» 10 years reclamation plan

» Regulation Acts
 Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA)
 Public Lands Act
 Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP)

» $1.2 billion have been invested in tailing reduction technology

» Oil sands processes emit
 Criteria air contaminants
 Heavy metals
 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
 Total Reduced Sulphur (including H2S)

» Green House Gas Emissions

 62 Mt of GHG emissions in 2013. Fig.15: GHG emissions [15]

» Remedy:
 Use of Carbon Capture and Storage

15. http://www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/explore-
topics/ghg-emissions
» Freshwater Requirements (per each produced barrels of bitumen):
 Oil sands Mining, 13-14 bbls
 In situ, 3 bbls

» Solutions being applied:

 Reutilization
 Using saline water

» Effective freshwater requirements:

 Oil sands Mining, 2-3 bbls
 In situ, 0.5 bbls

» Tailings Effect
» Disturbed Habitat

» Birds drowning

» Solutions:
 Bird alarming mechanism
 Strict regulations & monitoring
» Using technology to achieve sustainability
 Reduced steam requirements
 Controlling emissions
 Future investment potential in CCS: C$4.5 billion

» CSR- improved relationships with Aboriginal people and employees.

» SAGD – the future of oil sands.

 High productivity
 Lower supply cost
» Alberta Energy, Canada. http://www.energy.alberta.ca/
» Canada’s Oil Sands http://www.canadasoilsands.ca/
» National Energy Board, CERI, Oil Sands Magazine
» ARC Financial Corp. “The Fiscal Pulse of Canada’s Oil and Gas Industry-1st Quarter
2015”.

Recommended Readings:
» J. Peter Findly (2015). “The future of Canadian Oil Sands”.
» Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (2012-2022).
» CERI. “Canadian Oil Sands Supply Costs and Development Projects (2015-2035)”.
Any Questions??