Syncrude develops tar sands, aided by unique utility hookup

Journal Article · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981 · Power; (United States)

OSTI ID:5455310

Ujimoto, R

Many energy-intensive process industries are confronted with power supply and demand margins. Such is the case with Syncrude Canada Ltd., a refinery that is currently producing ca. 100,000 bpd from N. Alberta's oil-rich Athabasca tar sands. Syncrude mines the oil sands using huge draglines, each weighing more than 6000 tons and using close to 10 MW. When all 4 are operating, they create large surges in power demand, which can swing by 60 MW in less than 2 min. To meet the need for steam and electricity, Syncrude built a combined-cycle cogeneration power plant, consisting of a 60-MW condensing steam turbine, three 50-MW backpressure steam turbines, and two 25-MW gas turbines. The plant easily satisfies the average electric load from the heavy equipment, but cannot by itself absorb the surges in demand caused by the mining operation. To absorb this momentary extra load, the plant is interconnected with Alberta Power Ltd. through two 72-kV tielines.

• OSTI ID: 5455310
• Journal Information: Power; (United States), Journal Name: Power; (United States) Vol. 125:9; ISSN POWEA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040300* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Drilling
Fracturing & Mining
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200102 -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Power Cycles
ALBERTA
ATHABASCA DEPOSIT
CANADA
COGENERATION
COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANTS
DEUS
DRAGLINES
EARTHMOVING EQUIPMENT
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
GAS TURBINES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MACHINERY
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SAND DEPOSITS
OIL SAND MINING
POWER DEMAND
POWER GENERATION
POWER PLANTS
POWER SUPPLIES
PUBLIC UTILITIES
STEAM GENERATION
STEAM TURBINES
SURFACE MINING
SURGES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY