Enhanced bitumen recovery from thin and low quality oil sands formations

Alberta’s oil sands are one of the world’s largest known hydrocarbon deposits. Currently, Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is the commercial recovery method of choice. This requires large amounts of steam to be injected into the oil sands reservoirs, resulting in steam loss to the overburden. Companies continue to expand operations with new pad development. […]

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Development of chemical additives to improve the efficiency of solvent-aided thermal bitumen recovery processes – Year two

AlbCurrent commercial recovery method of Alberta’s oil sands is Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) which requires large amounts of steam. This means that large amounts of natural gas are burned to produce steam resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Solvent injection is one initiative gaining interest to overcome the aforementioned limitations. Certain reservoir conditions, including […]

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Application of Data Analytics Approaches for Solvent-Assisted Bitumen Recovery Pilot Analysis

This project will develop data-driven models for production performance analysis and optimization for solvent-assisted bitumen recovery operations and related processes. Effective operations of solvent processes are crucial for improving oil production and maintaining a low solvent-to-oil ratio (SOR). Although the recent developments in digital oilfield technologies have enabled real-time surveillance of downhole operating conditions and […]

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