Phase 1 – Energy Options Feasibility Study
SNC Lavalin
May 2008
Executive Summary
PTAC has facilitated the completion of Phase 1 of a nuclear energy options study for the Oil Sands. The conclusions and recommendations of this study address the practical use of nuclear energy in three (3) typical Oil Sands project/energy demand configurations, as defined by the PTAC Alternative Energy Solutions Committee (AES):
1) 120k BPD In-situ (SAGD), constructed in four (4) 30k BPD stages;
2) 100k BPD Mining; and
3) 100k BPD Integrated Mine and Upgrader.
This study evaluated the currently available Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) that are either in operation or under construction, NPP designs that could be available within a five (5) to seven (7) year period, and the ‘next generation’ nuclear power plant designs that could be available by 2020. The NPPs are primarily required for producing steam instead of electricity, which is the current form.
Levelized Unit Energy Costs LUEC Calculations
Levelized Unit Energy Costs LUEC Summary
Phase 2 – Evaluation of High Temperature Reactors for Potential Application to Thermal In-situ Recovery of Oil Sands
MPR Associates
March 2009
Executive Summary
Oil produced from the oil sands region in northern Alberta Canada is an increasingly important contributor to the world’s oil supply. The thermal, in-situ recovery of bitumen from oil sands is an energy intensive process. Currently, most in-situ oil sands plants create steam for this process by burning natural gas, a high quality fuel with volatile pricing that is in demand for other uses such as home heating, electric power generation and chemical feedstock. Canada has made commitments to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. These commitments, in combination with the desire by the oil sands producers to make better use of natural gas and other fossil fuels has resulted in interest among the Alberta oil sands producers in nuclear power as a source of oil sands process heat.
This evaluation considered the potential application of three different HTR designs to a hypothetical, green-field, 120,000 barrel per day (bpd), thermal in-situ recovery plant located in the Athabasca oil sands fields in Alberta, Canada.
Alternative Energy Solutions Phase 3 – Integration of High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Technology with Oil Sands Processes
Idaho National Laboratory
October 2011
Executive Summary
This study summarizes the evaluation of siting an HTGR plant in a remote area where it could supply steam, electricity, and high temperature gas for the recovery and upgrade of unconventional crude oil from oil sands in Alberta, Canada. This plant was designed to cover an area of ~43,000 hectares and recover up to 50% of the bitumen reserves in this area. The application of an HTGR based central energy facility in the Alberta oil sands addresses potential long term issues associated with recovering and upgrading bitumen; principally greenhouse gas emissions and price instability associated with the large quantities of natural gas used currently as the energy supply. The central energy facility design developed in this evaluation addresses these issues by reducing natural gas consumption by ~205 million standard cubic feet per day (~4.5 trillion cubic feet over the life of the plant), and reducing CO2 emissions by ~13 thousand tons per day (~285 million tons over the life of the plant).