Statoil: Oil Sands Report 2013

The 2013 Oil Sands Report presents performance indicators for production, energy consumption, emissions intensity and resource use at the Leismer Demonstration Project and in the Kai Kos Dehseh (KKD) leases in northern Alberta.

Report highlights

• Statoil’s oil sands production decreased slightly in 2013.
• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) intensity increased due to facility maintenance and the integration of pilot technologies to reduce long-term CO₂ intensity.
• The company is on track to achieve its 2020 CO₂ intensity reduction target of 25%.

Technology pilot measures

As highlighted in the 2012 report, production was expected to decrease slightly in 2013 due to a planned multi-week plant shutdown for facility maintenance and the integration of new scientific research and experimental development measures.

These technology pilot measures are intended to both increase production and decrease CO₂ intensity in the long term.

Oil production

Production decreased from 16 000 barrels of oil per day in 2012 to 15 000 barrels of oil per day in 2013. CO₂ intensity increased from 55.6 kg CO₂/barrel to 69.7 kg CO₂/barrel. The CO₂ intensity in 2011 was 72.7 kg CO₂/barrel.

“Our long-term CO₂ targets for reduced carbon dioxide intensity in the production process with 25% by 2020 and 40% by 2025 remain firm,” commented Statoil Canada country manager and senior vice president, Ståle Tungesvik.

CO₂ intensity

The increase in CO₂ intensity was anticipated due to the following factors:

• More steam was utilised in 2013 when a fourth steam generator was added to support new well pads and our current production wells.
• Statoil experienced an imbalance in the reservoir after a planned maintenance period. Consequently, production levels were lower and steam use higher than usual, which impacted the company’s overall CO₂ intensity rate.

New technologies

“In 2013 we introduced new technologies to help further our ambitions. These include solvent co-injection, which has the potential to reduce the amount of steam and water used to produce a barrel of bitumen,” Tungesvik added.

Carbon dioxide intensity is expected to decrease as operations normalise and additional technology is introduced. However, in the near term, the CO₂ intensity for Leismer may be higher than the projected segment target.

“Statoil’s technology plan remains on course. We have identified a group of 14 technologies we aim to test and deploy over the next five to 10 years. A number of these technologies support our strategy to reduce CO₂ emissions at their source,” concluded Tungesvik.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/08042014/statoil_oil_sands_report_599/