Alberta Oil Sand(s) Deposits
The four deposits, Athabasca, Peace River, Cold Lake and Wabasca, have total resource in place estimated at 1.7 trillion to 2.5 trillion barrels. The Athabasca Oil Sands deposit, Alberta's largest and most accessible source of bitumen, contains more than one trillion barrels of bitumen over an area encompassing more than 30,000 square kilometers.
Ammonium sulphate slurry
A solid-liquid mixture produced from a flue gas scrubber that can be used to manufacture marketable ammonium sulphate fertilizer.
Bitumen
The molasses-like substance that comprises up to 18 per cent of oil sands. Bitumen, in its raw state, is black, asphalt-like oil. It requires upgrading or blending to make it transportable by pipeline and usable by conventional refineries.
Bitumen cracking
A process that breaks large, complex hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, simpler compounds by means of heat.
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
A non-toxic gas produced from decaying materials, respiration of plant and animal life, and combustion of organic matter, including fossil fuels; carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas produced by human activities.
Cokers
Vessels in which bitumen is cracked into its fractions and from which coke is withdrawn to start the process of converting bitumen to upgraded crude oil.
Conventional oil
Petroleum found in liquid form, flowing naturally, or capable of being pumped without further processing or dilution.
Cyclofeeder
Specialized equipment that receives oil sand feed and turns it into a slurry form for transport to the pump box.
Debottleneck
An undertaking to systematically remove plant capacity limitations through modifications of existing facilities and/or addition of capital facilities; commonly provides a 10-20% capacity improvement versus a major capital intensive expansion.
Diesel cetane count
A quality specification important in the production of diesel fuels.
Dragline
A large machine that digs oil sand from the mine pit and piles it into windrows.
Extraction
The process of separating bitumen from oil sand.
Feedstocks
Raw material supplied to refinery, oil sands upgrader, or petrochemical plant.
Fines (fine tailings)
Essentially muddy water—about 85% water and 15% fine clay particles by volume—produced as a result of extraction.
Flue gas scrubber/desulphurizer
Equipment that removes sulphur dioxide and other emissions.
Fluid coking
A major part of the upgrading process whereby high temperatures in a coker break down the complex bitumen molecules, rejects carbon and causes bitumen molecules to reformulate into lighter fractions that become the main ingredients in upgraded crude oil.
Greenhouse gases
Any of various gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect.
LC-Finer hydroprocessor
A major upgrading unit that breaks down bitumen by adding hydrogen with the aid of a catalyst to produce gas oil.
Line-Out
The process of optimizing an operational unit or facility to reach its design capacity.
Low-energy extraction
A process for extracting bitumen that uses less energy than others.
Middle distillates
A classification of refined petroleum products that includes kerosene, diesel, and jet fuel.
Mining and extraction train
A modular processing unit for mining and extracting bitumen.
Naphtha
A refined petroleum product in the lighter classification that is often used to make gasoline.
Netback
Average realized selling price, after hedging, less operating costs and Crown royalties.
Oil sand(s)
A composition of sand, bitumen, mineral rich clays and water.
Oil sand(s) lease
A long-term agreement with the provincial government which permits the leaseholder to extract bitumen, other metals and minerals contained in the oil sands in the specified lease area.
Ore grade
The percentage of bitumen by weight in the oil sands.
Overburden
A mining term related to the thickness of material above oil sands deposits.
Residuum
A residual product from the processor distillation of hydrocarbons.
Strip ratio
The ratio of waste (overburden material that covers mineable ore) to ore; used to define the quality of an oil sands ore body.
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
A compound of sulphur and oxygen produced by burning sulphur.
Synbit
Typically, a synbit blend is a ~50/50 mix of bitumen and synthetic crude oil.
Syncrude 21
A multi-staged expansion plan Syncrude embarked in 1997, which is anticipated to increase productive capacity to over 500,000 barrels per day.
Syncrude joint venture
Formed for the purpose of exploiting the Athabasca Oil Sands, which includes the Syncrude plant, facilities and leases acquired or developed in connection therewith; participants include: Canadian Oil Sands Limited (36.74%); Conoco Phillips Oilsands Partnership II (9.03%); Imperial Oil Resources (25%); Mocal Energy Limited (5%); Murphy Oil Company Ltd. (5%); Nexen Oil Sands Partnership (7.23%); and Petro Canada (12%).
Synthetic crude oil (SCO)
A high-quality product resulting from the mining, extraction and upgrading of thick, tar-like bitumen.
Tailings
A combination of water, sand, silt and fine clay particles that is a by-product of removing bitumen from oil sand.
Tailings oil recovery unit
A unit designed to recover further low-quality oil from the by-product that remains when bitumen is removed from oil sand.
Tailings systems
Seperation of water from sand and clay to enable incorporation of solids into reclamation landscapes and recycling of water back into the operations.
Total volume to bitumen in place (TV/BIP)
The ratio of ore plus overburden volume to total bitumen in place.
Turnaround
A unit shutdown essential for good maintenance of the mining, producing and upgrading facilities. A turnaround reduces production but does not usually halt it entirely as the various operating units are often duplicated.
Upgrading
The conversion of heavy bitumen into a lighter crude oil by increasing the ratio of hydrogen to carbon, either by removing carbon (coking) or adding hydrogen (hydroprocessing).
Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU)
Capable of processing 285,000 barrels of bitumen a day, the VDU pulls streams of light and heavy-gas oil from hot bitumen feed delivered by the diluents recovery unit.
Abbreviations
American Petroleum Institute specific gravity: API
barrel(s): bbl, bbls
barrel(s)/day: bbl/d, bbls/d
carbon dioxide: CO2
gigajoule: GJ
parts per million: ppm
sulphur dioxide: SO2
Synthetic Crude Oil: SCO
West Texas Intermediate: WTI
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