In its most basic form
it resembles an unremarkable pile of dark sticky sand. But if you
tighten your fist around a handful, it literally drips oil.
Found only in an obscure corner of Northeastern
Alberta, its called the Athabasca oil sands and it may provide
another viable North American energy source.
There are more reserves in oil sands in Alberta than in conventional
oil in Saudi Arabia. That sounds incredible but experts agree its
true.
The sheer potential and volume of oil sands have captured the attention
of several oil companies that are spending billions of dollars to
mine, extract and refine it for use in North America. Spurred by
the U.S. energy crunch, officials are showing interest.
Processing to convert the gritty dirt into burnable crude oil is
costly and complicated. But a major construction effort now underway
by an international oil company, Suncor Energy, will set the new
standard for improving processing and bringing it closer to cost
efficiency.
Called Project Millennium, the processing facility has relied heavily
on the skills of IBEW members. More than 1,600 members are an integral
part of the multi-billion dollar, multi-year project to mine more
crude from the sand. Most are from Local 424, but the massive project
also includes a few hundred travelers. Among other duties, they
are laying 2.6 million meters of electrical cable for power, lighting
and control, checking more than 10,300 instrument loops, installing
585,500 feet of electric heat trace and making more than 260,000
electrical connections. The project, whose peak work force will
swell to 5,900, is a joint construction venture of Fluor Constructors
Canada and Bechtel Canada.
Previously produced at up to $20 Canadian per barrel, the new system
will bring the cost of refining oil sands to $12.50 Canadian, although
as every consumer knows, oil prices are subject to regular and sometimes
wild flucatuations. The going international market price, or the
cost to purchase crude, is approximately $35 Canadian per barrel.
That profit margin explains the keen interest in companies like
Suncor to develop oil sands projects.
By the time the Project Millennium is completed, Suncor expects
to produce 225,000 barrels of oil per day by 2002, more than doubling
its 1999 production.
And there is more where that came from. According to geological
surveys, Canada is estimated to contain more than 300 billion barrels
of oil sand deposits.
Suncors Millennium Project expands the existing Steepback Mine
and improves the extraction and upgrading plants. A new hydro-transport
pipeline will combine water with the oil sands to expedite the movement
of the raw material to the processing facilities, replacing the
old conveyor belt system. The project also targets measured reductions
in carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides and sulphur dioxide emissions.
The extraction processseparating the raw oil from the sandwill
benefit from the addition of a new plant and a streamlined process.
Upgradingthe final step in the processwill be aided by the introduction
of new technology to lower emissions, reduce energy demand and increase
water reuse and recycling.
The oil is shipped to customers and refineries throughout Canada
and the United States for use as vehicle gasoline and transportation
and heating fuels, including kerosene and diesel.
From a prohibitively high per-barrel cost of 25 years ago, producers
have been constantly reducing the cost and increasing the economic
viability of refining oil sands. Technological advancement, more
efficient management and plant expansion have brought the price
down, said an official on the project.
The oil sands industry is by far the biggest employer in Fort McMurray,
Alberta, approximately 300 miles north of Edmonton. The city is
surrounded by the Boreal Forest and is known as the meeting place
of many waters as four large rivers converge in the area.
The oil sands mined in the area supply at least 20 percent of Canadas
oil needs. As North America seeks to curb dependence on Middle East
oil, the oil sands have recently received unprecedented attention
south of the border.
Based in Calgary, Alberta, Suncor was the first to mine oil sands
in Fort McMurray in 1967. Another company, Syncrude, partly owned
by Esso, has operated a mine there since the late 1970s. But the
field is getting crowded. A venture by Shell Canada and Chevron
Canada plans to become the third commercial plant in the area. And
others, including PanCanadian Resources and Petro-Canada, are lining
up.
The huge investments seem to be paying off. While the companies
pour money to streamline oil sands development, they are experiencing
record profits, both last year and the first quarter of 2001, according
to Alberta newspaper reports.
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Hydro transport system
piping car
August 2001 IBEW Journal
Hydro
transport system piping carries the oil sands slurry from the Steepback
Mine to the extraction plant in the background, where the oil is
separated from the sand.
Suncor Energys Steepback Mine overlooking the bridge
and the oil sands processing plants.
More than 1,600 IBEW members are working
on the multi-year project to mine more crude oil from the Athabasca
sands.
Inside wireman/ general foreman Cam Kulchitsky supervises
instrumentation installation at the new upgrading processor. Employed
by Fluor Constructors Canada, he is a member of Local 424 in Edmonton.
Steve Armstrong, an inside wireman with Local 424,
installs electrical heat tracing to protect pipes at Suncors new
oil sands plant. |