Oil Sands Environmental Impact Alleviated With Greater Greenhouse Gas Emissions Control

Alberta’s Oil Sands operators are beginning to take a greater level of control over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their projects as environmental impact and cost savings become higher priorities, according to the latest available government data from the province analysed by CanOils. Whilst GHG emissions from Alberta’s oil sands projects did rise by 4% between 2010 and 2011 from 62.5 tonnes to 64.8 tonnes respectively, oil sands production grew at a much higher rate, 15%, from 510 million barrels in 2010 to 586 million barrels in 2011, meaning that on a per barrel basis, the picture is far more positive.

The reason Alberta’s production was able to grow at a higher rate to the level of GHG emissions was the oil sands operators’ continued drive on efficiencies. 2011 saw a cut of 6% to the oil sands extraction GHG intensity in the province, decreasing from 58.97 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emitted per barrel of bitumen produced in the industry in 2010 to 55.25 kg CO2e/bbl. Mining operators were able to cut their emissions further, with an 8% drop in intensity during the same period to 71.74 kg CO2e/bbl. Mining was still the most intensive of Alberta’s varied oil sands extraction methods however, emitting 61% more CO2e per barrel than In Situ operations, from which emissions fell by 4% to 44.49 kg CO2e/bbl. In Situ projects did still lag behind mining projects in terms of overall production though, producing 53% less in 2011 with 634 mbbl/d of bitumen, compared to mining operations’ levels of 971 mbbl/d. Upgrading projects also improved GHG intensity, reducing CO2e per barrel of upgraded bitumen emissions by 8%, representing a fall from 92.31 kg CO2e/bbl in 2010 to 85.2 kg CO2e/bbl in 2011. Overall, extraction efficiencies have improved only 4% since 2004, as operators have tried to get a grip on ramping up production and scaling up operations while keeping emissions down, but the 2011 figures are definitely a cause for positivity.

Cutting emissions at the project level is not just about reducing the environmental impact of projects; it is also a gauge to a more efficient project with lower operating costs; less energy is being used to create heat for the operations, which is a major contributor to emission levels for all oil sands operations. In 2011, the Foster Creek project, operated by Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE), had the lowest industry CO₂e per barrel of the In Situ projects, emitting an average of 51.04 kg CO₂e per barrel of bitumen produced. Jackfish, operated by Husky Energy Inc. (HSE), was the second most efficient project producing only 55.52 kg CO₂e per barrel. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) technology made up all of the top five least intensive emitters, while Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), which is applied at Imperial Oil’s (IMO) Cold Lake and Canadian Natural Resources’ (CNQ) Primrose/Wolf Lake operations, account for only 2 of the 10 least intensive projects on a per barrel basis.

This drive for efficiencies is definitely leading to a more positive outlook for the eventual environmental impact the oil sands industry will have. Especially encouraging is the trend for 2011 that Alberta’s operators are starting to get to grips with controlling GHG emissions as production grows; the graph below shows a clear correlation between lower emissions per barrel and larger production.

Total Share of 2011 CO2e Emissions by Project (In Situ)

Details of this analysis are available exclusively to CanOils subscribers. 2004 to 2011 total and kg/barrel GHG emissions, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and their respective equivalent carbon dioxide (CO₂e) on an individual project level are available within the CanOils Oil Sands product.

Notes

Three oil sands mining, twenty in situ, four upgrading and three integrated projects reported their 2011 GHG emissions, the data on each is available in the CanOils oil sands product.

Greenhouse gases are those gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. CanOils tracks carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and their respective equivalent carbon dioxide (CO₂e) release per barrel and by total for every oil sands project. In the CanOils database, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone emissions are converted to CO₂ equivalent based on the US Environmental Protection Agency Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors under which CO₂ has a GWP of 1, methane a GWP of 21 and Nitrous oxide a GWP of 310.

Syncrude is raw produced bitumen that has been upgraded to synthetic crude oil.

Air pollutant emissions data were compiled in collaboration with provincial, territorial and regional environmental agencies by Environment Canada, National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). Facilities report their own pollutant release and transfer data to Environment Canada. Only facilities emitting the equivalent of 50,000 tonnes are reported and therefore pilot projects are not included. Total oil sands emissions data refers to total project coverage in the CanOils database.

There are two main ways of extracting oil sands – Mining, in which the bitumen is located within 80-100 meters of the surface and In Situ whereby the bitumen is located in deeper reservoirs and is produced using steam injection or other enhanced recovery methods.

Evaluate Energy is a leading
data provider Oil & Gas professionals and the financial services
industry. The Oil Blog is written
by members of their team of professional analysts and provides comment
on market movement and industry trends within the oil industry.