• http://www.oil-sands-water-management-2012.com/

KEY SPEAKERS INCLUDED

Brian Doucette

Director Of Environmental Excellence

Suncor

Peter Sametz

President & COO

Connacher Oil and Gas

Chris Bloomer

COO, Heavy Oil

Petrobank

Calvin Watson

General Manager Thermal Heavy Oil

Devon Canada

Mike Baker

Manager Of Environment & Regulatory Compliance

Shell Canada

Vincent Saubestre

Manager Technology & R&D

Total E&P Canada

Ed Koshka

Vice President, Engineering, Marketing & Infrastructure

Ivanhoe Energy Inc

K.C. Yeung

Manager Of Oil Sands Technology

Husky

Bruce McGee

President and CEO

E-T Energy

Margaret Klebek

Senior Hydrogeologist

Alberta Environment

OIL SANDS WATER MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE

Offering Practical Solutions For Managing Water Resources At Every Stage Of Oil Sands In Situ Production

The Athabasca region alone is estimated to contain 870 billion to 1.3 trillion barrels of oil. Increasingly, operators are using in situ extraction methods to harness the potential of oil sands productions. These in situ methods require large amounts of water for the production of steam to reduce the viscosity of the bitumen. Therefore, it is important for oil sands producers to work together to minimize water usage and improve recyclability whilst driving down costs in order to secure the future viability of the industry. To do this, companies will need to improve water recycling and treatment techniques as well as reduce drainage from regional groundwater and surface water resources.

Moving in situ production to a zero liquid discharge future with 100% recyclability will not only create a more environmentally friendly industry but also drive down operational costs and improve the return on investment.

The Oil Sands Water Management Initiative 2011 is the only event where leading oil sands producers themselves provide solutions to the specific water management challenges in situ oil sands producers are facing. They will be breaking down water management solutions at every stage of production, including sourcing, treating, recycling and disposing of water resources.

Senior industry representatives explained optimal water sourcing strategies, advanced treatment technologies, cost-effective recycling processes and the least environmentally impactful wastewater disposal methods to create an overall understanding on how to efficiently drive down costs and minimize water usage without affecting production.

Leading operators also provided an insight into the latest developments in breakthrough follow up processes including THAI (Toe To Heel Air Injection), Solvent, Electro-Thermal and Radio Frequency to determine the viability of a future of non-water based in situ production.

Finally, an in-depth focus was taken to provide innovative strategies for communication to the public and media to improve the environmental image of the oil sands industry and educate them on the difference between in situ and mining methods and their impacts.

Speakers at this initiative addressed: 

• Providing practical data from hydro geological studies to evaluate the availability of saline water from groundwater and surface water sources

• Examining optimal water sourcing strategies to determine how much water you need, where you can take it from and the salinity ranges, chemical composition and capacity of suitable regional aquifers

• Evaluating optimal water treatment strategies and technologies for driving down costs, improving water recyclability and increasing the reliability of steam generators

• Providing an insight into the strategy and technology developments being made for improving the oil/water separation process

• Determining what impact the Groundwater Management Framework will have on water sourcing, project approvals and licensing

• Demystifying the governmental approach towards monitoring aquifers for both water quality and elevation levels

• Understanding how current breakthroughs in follow-up processes are helping the industry move towards a non-water based future for in situ oil sands production

• Building the business case for a dedicated water supply pipeline from regional aquifers to in situ project areas

• Evaluating wastewater disposal processes to determine the most cost-efficient and least environmentally impactful approach