Grant: Industrial Research Chairs

Solvent enhanced bitumen recovery has been identified as a strong candidate for economizing the energy, water consumptions and associated reduction of the GHG emissions compared to current steam based recovery methods such as CSS and SAGD. Although the concepts and primary mechanisms of solvent based recovery processes are known and some have been tried successfully in the field, there is an alarming level of absence of the key elements which are crucial for optimizing these solvent processes. Missing is the concrete data and mechanistic understanding of solvent-bitumen interactions at operating conditions. New technologies need to be developed that will extend the expected prosperity provided by the oil and gas resources far into the future. These technologies are the outcomes of data gained through experimental lab work and the corresponding models that this Chair program will develop. Industry needs this information continue their economically and environmentally sustainable exploitation of our natural energy resources. This work will create the knowledge base needed to build robust, reliable and valid models for reservoir and process simulations. With this knowledge and these tools, it will be possible to not only design and optimize new and existing downhole recovery processes but to advance the technology used for upgrading and refining. These developments can then be pursued commercially by industry. The Chair program in solvent enhanced recovery processes is a key enabler for solvent-based technology that is politically, socially and environmentally acceptable. The intention is to support industry in the development of recovery and separation processes that sustain economically viable heavy oil recovery in a less energy intensive and more environmentally benign manner.