CANADA’S OIL SANDS INNOVATION ALLIANCE: COLLABORATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Major Canadian oil sands companies have come together in an unprecedented move to collaborate and advance technologies to accelerate the pace of environmental performance improvement.
Thirteen companies, representing about 90% of crude oil production from the oil sands, are accelerating the pace of research and development and implementation of environmental solutions under the umbrella of Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA). Formed in early 2012, COSIA is a made-in-Canada model established to address rising expectations, at home and abroad, for improved environmental performance and continued responsible growth of the oil sands.
This collective effort by competitors is an industry-first. COSIA members all contribute to the group effort, and each has access to the expertise and data of their 12 partners. “Environmental intellectual property was historically closely guarded by companies,” says COSIA chief executive officer Dan Wicklum. “The companies are still competitors, but when it comes to environmental performance, collaboration is a better model. COSIA is breaking down barriers so companies can learn from each other and share technologies.”
To date, more than 560 distinct technologies, costing almost $1-billion to develop, have been shared. But the actual value is much higher than that, says Wicklum. “Companies now have access to 560 additional environmental technology options that they didn’t have access to before.”
COSIA focuses on four environmental priority areas (EPAs) that will benefit the most from innovation and collaboration: land, water, tailings and greenhouse gases (GHGs).
LAND
COSIA members have contributed 356 technologies that cost about $127-million to this priority area that seeks to reduce environmental footprint, accelerate reclamation and preserve biodiversity. The 104 active projects include: Caribou habitat restoration – Changes to caribou habitat as a result of industrial development and global warming have reduced their numbers. Restoration techniques, including winter planting, protective mounds and natural barriers, are used to recreate habitat. Modelling is helping to predict the impact of today’s initiatives on tomorrow’s landscapes. Alberta Biodiversity Conservation Chairs Program – A collaborative effort among the oil sands industry, government and academia to research the environmental effects of industrial development and human actives on the boreal forest; conserve and monitor species at risk; and identify best practices in land restoration and plant and animal repopulation.
WATER
The goal is to reduce water use and increase recycling rates without impacting land reclamation, GHG output or waste levels. To date more than 145 technologies that cost $184-million have been shared among 32 active projects across the oil sands, including: Direct contact steam generation – Waste water
mixed with oxygen and fuel creates a pressurized mix of steam and CO2 to replace conventional boiler steam generation. This process recycles 90% of the water used. Additional benefits include energy conservation and a reduction in emissions of sequestered CO2. Boiler blowdown reduc
tion technologies – Boilers are used to produce steam for in-situ oil sands production to help bring bitumen to the surface. Adding a boiler downstream of the conventional configuration will help produce more steam with the same volume of water. Other technologies to limit GHGs are also being tested.
TAILINGS
Work in the tailings area is reducing the volume of fluid fine tailings (fine clay particles) that remain suspended in water following bitumen extraction, and reducing the size and number of tailings ponds required. Technologies shared in this area are engaged in 54 active projects. Initially shared tailings technologies cost more than $400-million to develop. Since then, another $200 million has been spent on R&D to progress and develop more tailings technologies, including:
Tailings centrifuge – Fine fluid tailings are placed in a centrifuge with a biodegradable polymer that helps bind particles together and separate them from water. The water can be recycled in the extraction process while clay particles can be placed in mined-out pits and capped with reclamation soil to support native plants. Syncrude is building a full-scale plant with 18 centrifuges at a cost of $1.9-billion and has shared the technology with COSIA companies. As a result, Shell Canada is currently commissioning a pilot plant at its Jackpine oil sands mine.
GREENHOUSE GASES
COSIA’s greenhouse gas reduction initiative has shared 120 technologies that cost $200-million. Active projects deal with waste-heat recovery, improvements in steam generation, and energy efficiency and alternative fuels. For example, the recently launched Algae Carbon Conversion Project uses algae to convert C02 into biofuel and biomass products, which will help to reduce oil sands operations’ GHG emissions.
COSIA companies work in concert with the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC). CCEMC is a notfor-profit organization helping to fulfill the mandate of the Alberta government to reduce GHG emissions. Alberta was the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce a levy on large emitters, including oil and gas, coal-fired power generators, cement and chemical manufacturers, and fertilizer producers, if GHG emissions exceed thresholds. Since it was established four years ago, CCEMC has received more than $380-million to support the discovery, development and deployment of GHG reduction technology. Of that total, $98-million has been invested in renewable energy projects; $54.7-million in projects related to greening fossil fuels; $39-million in energy efficiency; and $21.4-million in carbon capture and storage. The projects have a combined value of more than $1.5-billion.
In total, CCEMC is supporting 55 projects that will help Alberta to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including five projects in its biological program.
CCEMC provides financial support to several COSIA projects that reduce GHG emissions. For example, CCEMC helped to fund the development of the Oil Sands Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Roadmap Study by COSIA member Suncor Energy, and CCEMC is supporting another member project that aims to draw on low-grade waste-heat to generate clean electricity.
“The CCEMC cares about COSIA’s mandate, and we fund projects led by their member companies that will help Alberta implement its climate change strategy,” says Kirk Andries, managing director of CCEMC. “Ultimately, success for us means that transformative technology is in place, enabling industry to meet reduction targets.”