Evaluation of alternative energy sources for SAGD operation

传统碳氢化合物来源的发现变得越来越少，而开采速度却在提高。因此，像油砂这样的非常规石油储备正变得越来越重要。对于地下70到800米的矿藏，沥青是通过就地方法回收的。现场技术通过利用热能降低沥青粘度，将沥青从地下的沙子中分离出来，以便将其输送到地面。最常用的原地开采技术是蒸汽辅助重力排水(SAGD)技术。在SAGD作业中，天然气被用作将水加热为蒸汽以供注入的一次能源。低成本和目前丰富的天然气使其成为油砂运营商的经济选择。然而，与SAGD生产相关的“碳足迹”远远高于其他沥青和原油生产方法。我们小组已经为SAGD行动探索了几种替代能源。我们研究了基于地热、水能、太阳能、风能和生物质的能源。生物质替代能源是最可行的，燃料成本比天然气低，加工成本比天然气高。这项研究的目的是深入分析在森科尔的火袋基地使用生物质作为燃料来源以补充或取代天然气使用的潜力。第二个目标是确定与(A)秸秆、(B)林地生物量和(C)森林作业产生的废木相比，藻类是否可以作为生物质能源的一种可行来源。拟议的研究与森科尔的业务直接相关，因为他们寻求降低燃料成本，开发用于石油生产的绿色技术。

Discoveries of conventional sources of hydrocarbons are becoming less frequent while the rate of extraction is increasing. Therefore, unconventional oil reserves like oil sands are becoming more important. For deposits between 70 and 800 meters below ground surface, bitumen is recovered by in-situ methods. In-situ technology separates the bitumen from the sands underground by using thermal energy to reduce bitumen viscosity so that it can be transported to the surface. The most commonly applied in-situ recovery technology is Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). Natural gas is used as the primary energy source to heat water to steam for injection in SAGD operations. The low cost and current abundance of natural gas makes it an economical choice for oil sands operators. However, the "Carbon Footprint" associated with SAGD production is considerably higher than other bitumen and crude production methods. Our group has explored several alternative energy sources for SAGD operations. We examined geothermal, hydro, solar, wind, and biomass based power sources. Biomass based alternative energy was the most feasible with lower fuel costs and higher processing costs than natural gas. The objective of this study is to develop an in-depth analysis of the potential for using biomass as a fuel source to complement or supplant the use of natural gas at Suncor's Firebag site. A secondary objective is to determine whether algae can be a viable source of biomass energy as compared with (a) straw, (b) woodland biomass, and (c) waste wood from forest operations. The proposed research is directly relevant to Suncor's operations as they seek to lower fuel costs and develop green technology for oil production.