Canadian oil sands work moves ahead

Journal Article · Mon Aug 02 04:00:00 EDT 1965 · Oil Gas J.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6703465

Site preparation for the plant that will extract oil from Athabasca oil sands in Alberta (Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd.) began in May 1964. About 135,000 tons of material must be mined daily to get 100,000 tons of bitumen-bearing sands. The bitumen content rarely exceeds 20% of the formation by weight and the range is usually 8-16%. As a result, Great Canadian expects to extract 65,000 bpd of 6-8$ API bitumen from this sand for feed to the coker. The coker distillate will then be processed in a hydrogenation system for a yield of 45,000 bpd of synthetic crude, 3,000 tons of coke, and 300 tons of sulfur. Mining plans call for excavating all the sands down to the limestone base, which on this lease means a depth of 150 ft. The bitumen-bearing sands will be delivered from the pit to the extraction plant by conveyor. The sand then enters a rotary conditioning drum where it is mixed with hot water and steam and heated to about 180$F. Air is also added and the material whipped to a froth before passing into separation cells. The sand and water settle out, and the oily froth is skimmed off. A diluent is added to dissolve the bitumen, after which the air, water, mineral matter and the diluent are removed before the bitumen enters the coking plant.

• OSTI ID: 6703465
• Journal Information: Oil Gas J.; (United States), Journal Name: Oil Gas J.; (United States) Vol. 63:31; ISSN OIGJA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040402* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
ATHABASCA DEPOSIT
BITUMENS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CANADA
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL PREPARATION
COKE
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINEERING
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
LLOYDMINSTER DEPOSIT
MATERIALS
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SAND DEPOSITS
OIL SANDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING
SULFUR
SYNTHESIS
TAR