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Technology Enhancements

The technical viability of the Clearwater Project and the project’s schedule, including facility construction, do not depend on breakthrough technologies or high-risk R&D. The Clearwater Project and AOS are not “technology plays”. Clearwater does, however, incorporate a number of advancements to the base SAGD model aimed at achieving higher productivity, a lower SOR and improvements to safety and environmental protection.

Separately from the basic Clearwater Project design, AOS is negotiating participation in a leading-edge research project: electro-magnetically assisted gravity drainage. If successful, it would further improve bitumen productivity and further reduce the SOR. Neither phase of the Clearwater Project is dependent on this partner-funded research succeeding.

Incremental enhancements

AOS’s technical enhancements of basic SAGD, which will also improve safety and environmental protection, are explained on separate pages. Please click on any of the following links:

• Low-pressure operation;
• Solvent co-injection;
• Basement wells; and
• Sophisticated underground and surface monitoring.

EM-SAGD

AOS is exploring the opportunity to test a new electro-magnetic (EM) technology at the Clearwater Project. Electrical current can be readily transformed into heat. The electro-magnetically assisted gravity drainage concept makes use of an inductive EM loop running along the SAGD well pairs that would electro-magnetically heat and therefore pre-mobilize the bitumen. That would help the bitumen flow more easily towards the production wells, reducing the amount of steam and solvent required.

The successful application of EM technology could lower the SOR all the way to 1.2:1. This would multiply the benefits of a reduced SOR, discussed here, including further reducing the size of the Phase II surface facilities.