Canadian Oil Sands Research Articles

A comparison study on adsorption and interaction behaviors of diluted bitumen and conventional crude oil on model mineral surface

The increasing volume of petroleum products being transported from the Canadian oil sands raises concerns of potential impacts of accidental oil discharges in-land. Understanding the adsorption behavior of petroleum on mineral surfaces is important for oil spill modeling and response. In this work, a comparison study is conducted to probe the interaction behaviors of two distinct petroleum products, diluted bitumen (DB) and conventional crude oil (CCO), with molecularly smooth mica surfaces (as a model mineral) in toluene solutions using a surface forces apparatus (SFA) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). It is observed that DB exhibits adsorption behavior distinct from that of CCO at the tested concentrations. At low concentrations of oil in toluene (e.g., 0.1 v/v%), the adsorbed DB film on mica is twice as thick as the CCO film on mica. Weak adhesion (<1 mN/m) is measured when separating two oil-adsorbed mica surfaces in toluene. Alternatively, when the concentration of oil is increased to 10 v/v%, the initial oil-film thickness is doubled for the two oils tested. Adhesion (∼10 mN/m) with long stretching or bridging (>70 nm) is observed in DB-toluene but not in CCO-toluene. The distinct adsorption behavior of DB is demonstrated to be mainly due to the high concentration of surface-active components, such as asphaltenes. The AFM imaging and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy results further support the SFA results. Our study provides fundamental insights into the adsorption and interaction behaviors of DB and CCO on mineral surfaces, with implications for predicting oil spill behavior and improving spill response measures.

Radio Frequency Heating combined with Solvent Extraction- A method for oil recovery from surface oil sands

Trinidad has oil sands resources of about 2 billion barrels of oil on land. However, due to the relatively small extent and surface location (about 10,000 acres and with depths varying from surface to less than 500 feet), large scale surface mining and in-situ methods such as SAGD and VAPEX that are applied to recover oil from Canadian oil sands, are not practical. From experimental and simulation studies conducted, a new method was developed to commercially recover oil from Trinidad's surface oil sands.The open literature shows Radio Frequency Heating (RFH) to be more practical than electrical resistive heating (ERH) for surface oil sands. RFH is cheaper, quicker and heating is uniform and deeper than ERH, with oil recoveries ranging from 50 to 80%. Experimental studies show the viscosity of Trinidad oil sand oil to be greater than 10,000 cp and temperatures greater than 170 °C are required for the oil to flow. The power requirement for applying RFH at this temperature is greater than 25 kW (kW) and very costly. In addition, vaporisation of oil components occurs at these high temperatures, which is not environmentally safe for surface application.This new oil recovery method uses RFH at low power (1 kW) with a locally extracted organic solvent. The RFH system designed and assembled consists of an RFH chamber, signal generator and low power amplifier (1 kW). Samples of oil sands were heated in the chamber to 100 °C using a low frequency of 11.5 MHz and a citrus oil extracted in house was injected. Bitumen recoveries in the range 60–70% were achieved after three cycles of solvent injection and RFH.Experimental studies conducted show that Trinidad oil sands have a clay content in the range of 10–20%, are water wetting with a water saturation in the range 10–20% and have relative permittivities in the range 38–100. From this data, a new mathematical correlation was developed to obtain permittivities of oil sands which can be used with industry software to simulate oil recovery by RFH. Simulation studies show that for a 70% recovery from three cycles, eight gallons of solvent per cycle are required with RFH at a temperature of 100 °C.The data from the experimental and simulation studies show that with a heating cost of 2.50 USD to produce a barrel of oil, a solvent cost of 16 USD/barrel and with drilling, equipment and operational costs, and this method is viable at an oil price over 25 USD/barrel. The low cost and minimal environmental impact of this new method makes it very attractive for oil extraction from surface oil sands.

Measured Canadian oil sands CO2 emissions are higher than estimates made using internationally recommended methods

The oil and gas (O&G) sector represents a large source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. However, estimates of O&G emissions rely upon bottom-up approaches, and are rarely evaluated through atmospheric measurements. Here, we use aircraft measurements over the Canadian oil sands (OS) to derive the first top-down, measurement-based determination of the their annual CO2 emissions and intensities. The results indicate that CO2 emission intensities for OS facilities are 13–123% larger than those estimated using publically available data. This leads to 64% higher annual GHG emissions from surface mining operations, and 30% higher overall OS GHG emissions (17 Mt) compared to that reported by industry, despite emissions reporting which uses the most up to date and recommended bottom-up approaches. Given the similarity in bottom-up reporting methods across the entire O&G sector, these results suggest that O&G CO2 emissions inventory data may be more uncertain than previously considered.

E&amp;P Notes (April 2019)

E&amp;P Notes (April 2019)

Esterification over Acid-Treated Mesoporous Carbon Derived from Petroleum Coke.

Multistep activation of a Canadian oilsands petroleum coke that yields an acidified mesoporous carbon catalyst is reported. Microporous-activated carbon (APC; ∼2000 m2/g), obtained by thermochemical activation of petroleum coke using KOH, was impregnated with ammonium heptamolybdate and activated by carbothermal hydrogen reduction (CHR). The resulting Mo2C, supported on high-mesopore volume (Vmeso ∼0.4 cm3/g) carbon, yields the desired mesoporous carbon catalyst (Vmeso ∼0.7 cm3/g) following acid washing. The effect of CHR temperature and the benefit of Mo2C loading on mesopore development is reported, and pore development models are discussed. The mesoporous carbons are active for the esterification of acetic acid and 1-butanol at 77 °C, and the butanol conversion correlates with the catalyst acidity, as measured by NH3-TPD.

Multistage stochastic capacity planning of partially upgraded bitumen production with hybrid solution method

Partial upgrading technologies have received a great amount of attention as a promising and economic solution for Canadian oil sands bitumen processing. In this paper, the optimal planning of capital and expansion capacities for partial upgrading of bitumen is studied. We propose a multistage stochastic planning model with consideration of various sources of uncertainties. The main challenge of the stochastic model is the presence of terms in which an uncertain parameter is multiplied by an adjustable dynamic decision variable. To solve the problem, two hybrid methods are proposed: in method 1, the uncertain parameter is modeled with an uncertainty set and the dynamic variable is modeled as scenario dependent variables; in method 2, the uncertain parameter is modeled with samples and the dynamic variable is modeled using the decision rule-based approximation. Finally, results obtained from both hybrid models are compared based on different criteria: (1) computational time, (2) solution performance, and (3) solutions for representative scenarios.

Bedding-scale geomodelling for effective permeability estimation in the Upper McMurray Formation, NE Alberta, Canada

The McMurray Formation is one of the most significant bitumen deposits in Canadian oil sands. Bitumen-bearing sand intervals deposited and reworked in fluvial, tidal or estuarine environments result in heterogeneous sediment distributions comprising clean sands and low-permeability muddy laminae or mud drapes. These interlayers increase the difficulty in estimating reservoir permeability, which is a critical geological parameter to predict the performance of in situ thermal processes of the oil sands projects. In this paper, we describe a bedding-scale geomodelling and simulation workflow using core images, core-plug and Vshale logs to estimate the effective permeability ( K h , K v ) in the Upper McMurray Formation. Details of five steps in this workflow are presented. To show the general applicability of this workflow, three pay-zone facies from tidal-channel infilled deposits of the Mackay River Project, CNPC, were selected to demonstrate this sedimentary process mimicking bedding-scale geomodelling strategy. The results of effective permeability estimation have the potential to improve history matching in flow simulations and performance forecasting.

Modelling of H2 consumption and process optimization for hydrotreating of light gas oils

AbstractHydrogen consumption regression models were developed for the hydrotreating of various light gas oil streams derived from Canadian oil sands including virgin light gas oil (VLGO), hydrocracker light gas oil (HLGO), coker light gas oil (KLGO), and a partially hydrotreated heavy gas oil (PHTHGO) stream over commercial NiMo/ɣ‐Al2O3 in a micro‐trickle bed reactor. The experiments were designed by central composite design (CCD) and covered a wide range of temperatures (353–387 °C), pressures (8.27–10.12 MPa), and liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) (0.7–2.3 h−1), at H2/oil ratio = 600 m3 H2/m3 oil. A composite regression model comprising of all four feed streams was also developed and tested against a new batch of experimental data. The composite model compared favourably with the experimental data. In addition, the composite model fits better than similar correlations from the literature.The effects of process conditions on hydrodesulphurization (HDS), hydrodenitrogenation (HDN), and hydrodearomatization (HDA) conversions were also studied in this work. Based on the experimental data, regression models were developed for each feedstock to obtain the optimum conditions to maximize hydrotreating conversions.

Hydrodesulphurization of dibenzothiophene on NiMoS catalysts: Impact of the carbon support on the reaction kinetics

The hydrodesulphurization (HDS) activity of nickel molybdenum sulphided catalysts supported on activated carbon (NiMoS/AC), activated petroleum coke (NiMoS/APC), and conventional alumina (NiMo/γ‐Al2O3) have been compared using dibenzothiophene (DBT) as a model reactant. The reactions were carried out in a slurry‐phase batch microreactor at different reaction times (30–120 min) and temperatures (588–638 K) and a fixed H2 pressure (4.8 MPa). The NiMoS/APC catalyst had higher dispersion than the NiMoS/AC catalyst, resulting in a higher DBT conversion activity per gram of catalyst on the NiMoS/APC catalyst. However, similar activities were obtained on both catalysts when accounting for the NiMoS dispersion. The NiMoS/APC activity was marginally lower than the NiMoS/γ‐Al2O3 commercial catalyst, suggesting that activated petcoke is a promising support for NiMoS catalysts. The pseudo 1st order rate constants for both the direct desulphurization (DDS) and hydrogenation (HYD) reaction pathways were of similar magnitude on the NiMoS/APC catalyst, as were the apparent activation energies. Hence the selectivities for HYD versus DDS were favoured equally on the NiMoS/APC, unlike on NiMoS/Al2O3 where the DDS of DBT is favoured, or the NiMoS/AC where the DDS of DBT is favoured at higher temperatures (&gt; 603 K). The results of this study demonstrate that raw petcoke derived from Canadian oilsands can be converted to a useful catalyst support for hydrotreating catalysts that have high NiMoS dispersion and HDS activity, comparable to that of a commercial NiMoS/Al2O3 catalyst.

Heavy oil upgrading using magnetic molybdenum disulfide catalyst

In this work, the magnetic molybdenum disulfide catalyst (Fe3O4@SiO2@MoS2) was prepared and evaluated as a dispersed catalyst for the viscosity reduction of Canadian oil sand asphalt. The flower-like MoS2 formed and some Fe3O4@SiO2 particles were deposited on the surface of MoS2. The catalytic reaction was carried out at 400°C and hydrogen pressure of 15 MPa. The results showed that the viscosity of the liquid product at 50°C dramatically decreased from 4660 mPa·s to 76.9 mPa·s and the degree of viscosity reduction reached 98%.

Framing of Opposing Corporate and Activist NGO Website Communications: Impacts on Perceptions of Tripartite Sustainability Values and Joining Online Networks

This research investigated the impacts of the diverse framings of corporate and activist NGOs website communications of a proposed Canadian oil-sands pipeline on participants' perceptions of a) the tripartite sustainability values of environmental safety, economic benefits and community social relations and b) the willingness to join the corporate and activist NGOs online networks. Given the importance of sustainability issues in business education curricula and research, the participants were drawn from a population of undergraduate students. They were exposed online to either neutral information (control group), or randomly exposed initially to either the Corporate or Activist NGOs website communications. These exposures were subsequently reversed creating a combined group exposed to both agenda framings. Results demonstrated the persuasive power of both communication framings. The Corporate communication created positive perceptions of tripartite sustainability values, whereas the Activist NGOs' created negative perceptions. After exposures to the opposite communications, the Corporate group's perceptions changed from positive to negative, whereas the Activist NGOs perceptions only became somewhat less negative. Also there was a stronger willingness to join an Activist NGO rather than the corporate online action network. The empirical findings reflect the powerful diverse impacts of agenda framing on a highly controversial societal issue. Concerned citizens, researchers, politicians and academics should not restrict their website consultation to just one framing of such complex wicked issues. The present findings also have important implications for developing a more balanced and ethical business curriculum in the area of sustainability and common good.

High resolution mapping of nitrogen dioxide with TROPOMI: First results and validation over the Canadian oil sands.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a pollutant that is linked to respiratory health issues and has negative environmental impacts such as soil and water acidification. Near the surface the most significant sources of NO2 are fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning. With a recently launched satellite instrument (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument; TROPOMI) NO2 can be measured with an unprecedented combination of accuracy, spatial coverage, and resolution. This work presents the first TROPOMI NO2 measurements near the Canadian Oil Sands and shows that these measurements have an outstanding ability to detect NO2 on a very high horizontal resolution that is unprecedented for satellite NO2 observations. Further, these satellite measurements are in excellent agreement with aircraft and ground-based measurements.

Recovery of extra-heavy oil and minerals from carbonate asphalt rocks by reactive extraction.

Quite different from the Canadian oil sands, the Indonesian asphalt rocks proved to be carbonate unconventional oil ores. The strong interactions between asphalt and minerals make water-based extraction work poorly in separating this kind of ore. Herein, a reactive extraction process has been proposed to separate asphalt and mineral solids from the ores through dissolving the mineral solids (i.e., carbonate minerals, metal oxides, etc.) by acids (formic acid). It is evidenced that most of the asphalt could be recovered and collected on the top of the solution by generated CO2. What's more, the unreacted formic acid could be recycled in this process. The dissolved metal ions could be efficiently recovered to obtain different by-products by chemical settling and crystallization. The amount of residual solids settled at the bottom of the reactor is very small. Further tests show that the reaction efficiency is highly dependent on the operational conditions, including temperature, stirring rate, acid dosage, concentration of acid, etc. It is also found that the reaction could allow minerals to be redistributed in different phases. Although some metal elements could be dissolved into solution, elements such as Fe, Al, S, Si, and Ti are observed to accumulate in asphalt froth. In addition to reacting with minerals, formic acid is also found to reduce asphalt viscosity. This reduction improves the reaction efficiency. Based on primary evaluations, the above findings suggest that the reactive extraction would be a potential process to exploit the Indonesian asphalt rocks (or other similar ores) due to its full recovery to all materials.

A high-density, high-resolution joint 3D VSP–3D surface seismic case study in the Canadian oil sands

This Canadian oil sands case history illustrates how a high-density, high-resolution joint 3D vertical seismic profile (VSP)–3D surface seismic survey was designed, acquired, and processed to successfully meet the objective of obtaining a detailed image of the subsurface, including the cap rock, the internal architecture of the oil sands reservoir, the underlying carbonates, and the fault and fracture network that runs from surface to basement. The VSP-driven processing was essential in determining the effects of attenuation, multiples, and converted waves, and in quantifying the anisotropy for imaging and time-to-depth conversion. The joint 3D tomography inversion of the VSP and surface seismic data provided an accurate velocity model to migrate the 3D surface seismic data and the 3D VSP data in depth. Each of the 28 wells located within the survey area tied in to the final seismic volume very well. Depth imaging resolved the shallow velocity variations that the initial time processing could not. The apparent (but erroneous) azimuthal velocity effects in the time processing were minimized in the depth processing, resulting in an anisotropy velocity model that was in accordance with the 3D VSP data. A 3D full-waveform inversion test complemented this case history.

A fully autonomous ozone, aerosol and nighttime water vapor lidar: a synergistic approach to profiling the atmosphere in the Canadian oil sands region

Abstract. Lidar technology has been rapidly advancing over the past several decades. It can be used to measure a variety of atmospheric constituents at very high temporal and spatial resolutions. While the number of lidars continues to increase worldwide, there is generally a dependency on an operator, particularly for high-powered lidar systems. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has recently developed a fully autonomous, mobile lidar system called AMOLITE (Autonomous Mobile Ozone Lidar Instrument for Tropospheric Experiments) to simultaneously measure the vertical profile of tropospheric ozone, aerosol and water vapor (nighttime only) from near the ground to altitudes reaching 10 to 15 km. This current system uses a dual-laser, dual-lidar design housed in a single climate-controlled trailer. Ozone profiles are measured by the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique using a single 1 m Raman cell filled with CO2. The DIAL wavelengths of 287 and 299 nm are generated as the second and third Stokes lines resulting from stimulated Raman scattering of the cell pumped using the fourth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (266 nm). The aerosol lidar transmits three wavelengths simultaneously (355, 532 and 1064 nm) employing a detector designed to measure the three backscatter channels, two nitrogen Raman channels (387 and 607 nm) and one cross-polarization channel at 355 nm. In addition, we added a water vapor channel arising from the Raman-shifted 355 nm output (407 nm) to provide nighttime water vapor profiles. AMOLITE participated in a validation experiment alongside four other ozone DIAL systems before being deployed to the ECCC Oski-ôtin ground site in the Alberta oil sands region in November 2016. Ozone was found to increase throughout the troposphere by as much as a factor of 2 from stratospheric intrusions. The dry stratospheric air within the intrusion was measured to be less than 0.2 g kg−1. A biomass burning event that impacted the region over an 8-day period produced lidar ratios of 35 to 65 sr at 355 nm and 40 to 100 sr at 532. Over the same period the Ångström exponent decreased from 1.56±0.2 to 1.35±0.2 in the 2–4 km smoke region.

Using regional datasets of isotope geochemistry to resolve complex groundwater flow and formation connectivity in northeastern Alberta, Canada

In the southern Athabasca Oil Sands (SAOS) Region, located in Alberta Canada, individual in-situ oil sands operators have conducted local geochemical and isotope groundwater studies to establish baseline characteristics and to improve understanding of the connectivity of water supply and disposal formations within individual leases. Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) initiated this study to combine the data from these individual studies along with public information into a comprehensive unified dataset to evaluate conceptual models of regional groundwater flow and the degree of interaction and separation between important water supply and disposal aquifers. The unified dataset comprised over 293 groundwater samples from the main water source and disposal hydrostratigraphic units and included geochemical and isotopic tracers that can be used to identify sources (δ18O and δ2H) and age of water (3H) and associated solutes (14CDIC, 36Cl), as well as the sources of salinity and diagenetic processes (δ13CDIC, δ34SSO4, 87Sr/86Sr, δ11B, δ37Cl and δ81Br) and dissolved organics (δ13CDOC). The TDS and stable isotope composition (δ18O and δ2H) of groundwater from several Cretaceous formations were used to identify three main mixing controls. i) Areas where locally recharged groundwater mixes with glaciogenic water were identified by lower δ18O and δ18O values, high TDS, Cl:Br and δ34SSO4, 87Sr/86Sr, and δ37Cl values consistent with dissolution of evaporites. These areas were situated where vertical pathways through otherwise competent formations are likely to occur. ii) Mixing with paleo-waters characterized by high TDS and higher δ18O and δ2H signatures indicating groundwater recharged under warmer climate periods and/or evaporative enrichment were identified in the south, and southwestern portions of the study area. The presence of these paleo-waters indicate slow-moving groundwater zones with limited lateral and vertical connectivity. iii) Areas with potential connectivity to shallow aquifers were identified by their lower TDS values, modern meteoric δ18O and δ2H signatures, HCO3 type waters, and δ34SSO4 and 87Sr/86Sr signatures, consistent with weathering of shallow aquifer material. Geochemical and isotopic indicators suggest that in areas where the Colorado Group aquitard is thin or absent, there is greater connectivity between the Grand Rapids Formation and the shallower aquifers. Interpretation of the new unified dataset has improved understanding of the extent that glacial recharge had on Devonian aquifers, and overlying Cretaceous formations, and identified zones with relatively stagnant groundwater flow, both of which have implications for regional groundwater resource development, monitoring and potential wastewater disposal.

Viscosity Mixing Rule and Viscosity–Temperature Relationship Estimation for Oil Sand Bitumen Vacuum Residue and Fractions

Removing heavy components through solvent separation is a potential routine for the viscosity reduction of Canadian oil sand bitumen. The mixing rule for the viscosity of extracted fraction is the basis of process simulation and optimization. In this study, supercritical fluid extraction fractionation was applied to separate Canadian oil sand bitumen vacuum residue (VR) into various fractions. The viscosity blending behavior of extracted fractions was experimentally evaluated. Several available viscosity mixing rules were tested. To predict the viscosity–temperature profile of derived fractions at different blending ratio, we proposed a new mixing rule based on empirical equation parameters. We also correlated the viscosity–temperature parameters to conventional bulk property, providing a method for the rapid viscosity estimation for VR, extracted fractions, and their mixtures.

Sensitising Green Criminology to Procedural Environmental Justice: A Case Study of First Nation Consultation in the Canadian Oil Sands

Procedural environmental justice refers to fairness in processes of decision-making. It recognises that environmental victimisation, while an injustice in and of itself, is usually underpinned by unjust deliberation procedures. Although green criminology tends to focus on the former—distributional dimension of environmental justice—this article draws attention to its procedural counterpart. In doing so, it demonstrates how the notions of justice-as-recognition and justice-as-participation are jointly manifested within its conceptual boundaries. This is done by using the consultation process that occurs with indigenous peoples on proposed oil sands projects in Northern Alberta, Canada, as a case study. Drawing from ‘elite’ interviews, the article illustrates how indigenous voices have been marginalised and their Treaty rights misrecognised within this consultation process. As such, in seeking to understand the procedural determinants of distributional injustice, the article aims to encourage broader green criminological scholarship to do the same.

Impact of wildfires on Canada's oil sands facilities

Abstract. Exponential growth of oil and gas facilities in wildlands from one side and an anticipated increase of global warming from the other have exposed such facilities to an ever-increasing risk of wildfires. Extensive oil sands operations in Canadian wildlands, especially in the province of Alberta, along with the recent massive wildfires in the province, require the development of quantitative risk assessment (QRA) methodologies which are presently lacking in the context of wildfire-related technological accidents. The present study is an attempt to integrate Canadian online wildfire information systems with current QRA techniques in a dynamic risk assessment framework for wildfire-prone process plants. The developed framework can easily be customized to other process plants potentially exposed to wildfires worldwide, provided that the required wildfire information is available.

Cleaner production from Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage using seismic-based automated control

Besides cost, one major challenge facing the recovery of bitumen from the Canadian oil sands is the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted to the environment from the Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process. The situation is worse in reservoirs that are considered difficult-to-produce due to their geology. This has placed social pressures on oil sands operators to find cleaner, more environmentally friendly ways to produce oil from these reservoirs. The research documented here examines the combined use of flow control devices, specifically outflow control devices (OCDs) in the steam injection wells, and automated control to improve SAGD steam chamber conformance thereby raising the recovery process' efficiency and lowering its environmental impact. The combination of process control and flow control devices in the steam injection well is novel and offers a new method to reduce environmental impact of the process. The results show that there is an increase of the cumulative oil produced by up to 10.7% and 6.16% when compared to the base and OCDs without control cases, respectively, after 6 years of operation. There has also been a reduction of up to 11.7% and 6.5% of the cumulative steam-to-oil ratio, and thus the GHG emissions to produced oil ratio, compared to the base and OCDs without control cases, respectively. The results confirm that cleaner production is possible for SAGD by using seismic-based control together with OCDs in SAGD operations.