Steam assisted gravity drainage Oil Sands Wells

[Snagglefoot]

We’ve had a few discussions on Oil Sands Wells in Canada. Some included heated discussions ( don’t mind the pun.) Currently half the production is from open pit mines, but the other half is from pairs of horizontal wells drilled from pads. It’s called steam assisted gravity drainage. (SAGD), pronounced sag-D. The lower well is the producer and an upper well is a steam injector. steam is applied in the upper horizontal wellbore and the thick oil is heated and its viscosity is lowered enough for it to flow into the lower wellbore where it is pumped to surface. The majority of the oil reserves in the Oil Sands area is too deep to use open bit mining. I’ve included a aerial photo of a 12 well pad with 6 oil producers and 6 steam injectors. The six vertical objects to the left are the vertical sucker rod pump jacks ( different from your standard looking pump jack). The item on the far right is the steam production facility. Hopefully the photo loads. If not I’ll load it later. Enjoy.
Didn’t Load. Later.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Does this have anything to do with the Keystone Pipeline?

 

[Danno]

Does this have anything to do with the Keystone Pipeline?

I didn't see see Keystone anywhere in Snags post.
Why the question?

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

I didn't see see Keystone anywhere in Snags post.
Why the question?

Just curious. I know that it had ties to the Canadian oil fields/wells. A lot of good pipe fitters and welders lost their jobs on the Keystone Pipeline.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Here is that photo that wouldn’t load.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Hey Blue. In a way, they are related. Much of the oil that would have filled the Keystone XL pipeline would have come from facilities like this. Instead, we are filling tank cars and increasing shipping by rail, which is more costly. However, I brought this up to explain most of the future growth of Oil Sands would be through these underground steaming installations rather than open pit mining. By the way, the “Keystone” pipeline you are referring to is the “ Keystone XL” pipeline which is the one that got cancelled. There is a “Keystone Pipeline” which as been in operation since 2010.

 

[Snagglefoot]

The SAGD wells are part of what is called In-Situ recovery. Most of the future production will be done with In-Situ production.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Here is the map of the existing Keystone pipeline system and the Keystone XL which was cancelled. The green line shown is the Keystone XL portion. All the rest was built and is operation. I don’t mean to bring up the cancelation issue, only to show the terminology difference between the words Keystone and Keystone XL.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

You're right. I just thought it was one name.
But, it still makes me mad as HADES that all of those workers lost their jobs!

 

[JohnnyG]

It looks like a much more environmentally friendly system. I do know that they figured out long ago that using rubber tired vehicles in oils sands was a bad idea. It ate the rubber tire in no time!
My only question is how is the ground water impacted? I know there is great concern for that in this business as well as in horizontal drilling/fracking.

 

[Snagglefoot]

It looks like a much more environmentally friendly system. I do know that they figured out long ago that using rubber tired vehicles in oils sands was a bad idea. It ate the rubber tire in no time!
My only question is how is the ground water impacted? I know there is great concern for that in this business as well as in horizontal drilling/fracking.

Unlike shale formations, the oil sands does not use fracking. As for groundwater formations, they are cemented off as best they can. That can be discussed on end, but the oil sands area is much smaller than the entire area where shales are being fracked for production.

 

[Snagglefoot]

So here it is. The entire surface mineable area ( open pit mines in operation) would fit in an area measuring 140 miles by 60 miles. It’s all within the blue lined area north of Fort McMurray (known as Fort Mac).