Water use in bitumen recovery is minimal - May 25, 2009

Most is unfit for human consumption or irrigation

By Glen Schmidt, FreelanceMay 18, 2009

This week, the House of Commons standing committee on the environment and sustainable development is holding federal water hearings in Edmonton and Calgary. The main issue before committee is water use by the oilsands industry.

My organization, the In Situ Oil Sands Alliance (IOSA), will be among the many stakeholders who are following the hearings with keen interest. We are a small but growing group of oilsands producers whose operations represent the future of the industry. Thus, we feel it is important for Committee members and the public to have the facts about water use at our operations.

The "table stakes" in the debate over water use by the oil and gas industry are very high for all Canadians. Some 240,000 jobs across Canada are linked to the oilsands industry, which is expected to generate at least $123 billion in royalty and tax revenues for federal and provincial governments between 2000 and 2020. From a North American perspective, a steady supply of secure and reliable energy is critical to support economic recovery and ensure long-term prosperity.

The world needs Canadian energy, with demand being driven by population growth and the desire by citizens in poorer countries to raise their standard of living. At least 15 million barrels per day of new crude capacity must be added by 2015 in order to serve a population that is expected to increase by one billion.

This forecast assumes no economic growth and full development of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Overall, the OECD and International Energy Agency forecasts that world energy demand will expand by 45 per cent between now and 2030.

In other words, the debate over oilsands development has national, continental and global implications. Canada's oil reserves are the second largest on the planet and 97 per cent of those reserves are in oilsands. These figures underscore a stark choice for policy-makers: Continue developing Alberta's technologically advanced and carefully regulated oilsands industry to meet North American and world demand, or depend upon other major reserve countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Venezuela -- all of whom have less stringent environmental regulations and represent much greater geopolitical risk than Canada -- for our future energy.

As mentioned, the future of the oilsands will be in situ, or 'in place', extraction. More than 80 per cent of Alberta's recoverable oil reserves lie far below ground and can be accessed only by drilling, rather than by surface mining. In situ operations disturb only 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the land when compared with surface mining -- equivalent to the footprint of conventional oil and gas operations.

Let's examine water use at in situ operations. The most important fact is that relatively little fresh water is used, including that needed to generate steam to force bitumen up to the surface. For new operations, no fresh water is required.

The water being used is non-potable -- unfit for human consumption, livestock or irrigation. It comes from deep geological formations and is 90-per-cent recycled. Net of recycled water, about half a barrel of non-potable water is consumed per barrel of bitumen produced. As well, in situ operations require no tailings ponds, since the process itself does not result in tailings.

Concerns have been expressed over the possibility of seepage from in situ bitumen extraction into aquifers. There are two geological realities that mitigate this risk. First, the dominant groundwater flow in oilsands regions is downward from the surface because fluid pressure in bitumen formations is low. Using steam-assisted gravity drainage, or SAGD, steam is injected into the reservoir at pressures just above the formation pressure but below the level that would cause upward flow.

Second, there is typically a layer of impermeable "cap rock" -- often tens of metres thick -- that sits above the bitumen reservoirs. This cap rock, combined with the lower operating pressures used in the SAGD process, greatly reduces the risk of any fluids rising up from the reservoir and harming surface vegetation.

Complementing these natural safeguards are strict regulations by the Energy Resources Conservation Board governing injections pressures and well operations for SAGD operators. In addition, Alberta Environment requires the monitoring of wells in aquifers in and around project sites to ensure early detection of any possible contamination.

So far, I have described the environmental impact of today's in situ operations. However, IOSA members are committed to finding ways to improve efficiency, reduce or eliminate fresh-water use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Innovative new technologies are already approaching full-scale commercial use. For example, toe-to-heel air injection technology relies on underground combustion rather than steam to warm bitumen so that it can be extracted. Less water is used and GHG is cut in half. Other promising innovations include the use of solvents, hybrid steam/solvent methods, and carbon capture and storage techniques.

The debate over oilsands development is very important to Canada and the world's energy future. The In Situ Oil Sands Alliance is determined that the public and government have the facts about the industry's current and future environmental impact.

We firmly believe it is in everyone's best interest for in situ development to succeed.

Glen Schmidt is chairman of the In Situ Oil Sands Alliance and the president of Laricina Energy Ltd.,a private company concentrated on developing the oilsands through in situ technology.