Resource World Magazine

O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 65 collectively reduced their fresh water use intensity by 39% since 2012." Wiklum explained that short-term improvements range from enhancing cogeneration of heat and power to increas- ing waste heat recovery and accelerating the reclamation of mine tailings. "This isn't just about sharing technologies for the sake of sharing. Not only is the technology that's being developed jointly shared, the shared technology is being implemented and it's delivering performance improve- ments on the ground." COSIA companies are undertaking unconventional projects with the potential to create breakthrough technologies, such as the development of molten carbonate fuel cell technology that would capture CO 2 while generating clean electricity, and the COSIA Carbon XPRIZE that is moti- vating teams from around the world to uncover technologies capable of transform- ing CO 2 into valuable, useful products. "It's really exciting to have a role in developing technologies and innovations the world needs to lower emissions," Wicklum said. "There is an incredible amount of research and innovation that is happening in Canada's oil sands through COSIA's members…innovation that can produce a positive energy future by addressing our environmental challenges. "We're aware of the high expectations surrounding COSIA. That's the thing about being an organization focused on solving problems – innovation comes out strongest when we are faced with a com- pelling challenge." The downturn has had its casualties. In 2016 alone, Norway's Statoil sold all its tar sands assets and left Canada, citing the oil price crash but also climate change uncertainty and anti-oil sands campaigns. They were quickly followed by Koch Industries, Imperial Oil, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil [XOM-NYSE], Marathon Oil [MRO-NYSE], Royal Dutch Shell [RDS.A-NYSE] …a total of 42 over the past several years. But the oil sands comprise more than 98% of Canada's 173 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and as such cannot be discarded lightly. According to Natural Resources Canada, the oil sands reserves are spread in three distinct areas of north- ern Alberta in a total area of 140,200 km 2 : the Athabasca deposits (largest reserves), the Cold Lake deposit and the Peace River deposit – 1.7 trillion barrels of oil. Some 170 billion barrels of this heavy oil, or bitu- men, are rated economically recoverable – making them the world's third-largest crude reserve. Only about 20% of bitumen reserves are economically accessible by open-pit mining, while the remainder are too deep to be mined and must be recov- ered by drilling wells, involving much less surface disturbance than mining. The Alberta government has put a 100-megatonne (MT) cap on greenhouse gas emissions to be met by 2027, which environmentalists hope will spur the federal government to take similar steps. The Canadian Energy Research Institute acknowledges that increasing tar sands production makes it increasingly difficult for Canada to meet its climate commit- ments. The report projects the cap being blown by 19 MT by 2036 and calls for more pipeline approvals. Yet new projects are in the works. Suncor has proposed a new steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project in Meadow Creek West, with capacity of 40,000 bbls/d south of Fort McMurray. It's expected to start production in 2026. MEG Energy [MEG-TSX] says its non- condensable production enhancement system will be further applied at the com- pany's Christina Lake oil sands project this year, a 20,000-bbl/d increase. MEG also has applied for its proposed May River SAGD project, the total capital cost of the 164,000-bbl/d project hitting $10 billion. Cenovus Energy has announced com- pletion of two new SAGD expansions at Foster Creek and Narrows Lake over three years. Husky Energy [HSE-TSX] is seeking approval to increase capacity of its Sunrise SAGD project to 69,000 bbls/d from the current 60,000 bbls/d, and to increase its sulphur dioxide emission limit to 1.6 tonnes a day from the current one tonne per day. Japan Canada Oil Sands has applied to restart the Hangingstone SAGD project it suspended due to market conditions. An Alberta oil sands project. Photo by Dan Prat. continued on page 69

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