Long Lake SAGD Project (Nexen/OPTI)

Canada / Alberta / Wood Buffalo /
 oilsand upgrader, oil sands mine/extraction
 Upload a photo
Long Lake Project (Nexen Long Lake SAGD) is a "next generation" oil sands development operated by partners Nexen Inc and OPTI Canada Inc. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is employed to recover bitumen that is too deep to mine. The bitumen is pumped to the surface, where it is treated to remove water, then fed into the upgrader that produces synthetic crude oil.

The unique technology employed at Long Lake uses asphaltene residue from the upgrader to produce all the fuel gas needed to generate steam and to power the upgrader, as well as all the hydrogen to feed the hydrocracker unit. Conventional operations must purchase natural gas for these purposes--at very high cost. As a result, the Long Lake project is expected to produce crude oil at an operating cost far lower than all other oil sands projects.

Steam injection commenced in 2007, and the upgrader commenced production in mid 2008. Phase 1 is now nearly fully operational, producing 72,000 barrels per day of bitumen or about 60,000 barrels per day of synthetic crude oil (SCO) after upgrading.

Future expansions (each in phases of 60,000 barrels per day) are expected to ultimately raise production to 360,000 barrels per day of SCO.

www.nexeninc.com/en/Operations/OilSands/LongLake.aspx
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   56°24'57"N   110°57'40"W

Comments

  • SAGD = steam assisted gravity drainage. This is a method of extracting oil from the deeper portions of the Athabasca oil sands that are too deep for strip mining. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_assisted_gravity_drainage
This article was last modified 11 years ago