Suncor testing radio waves on oil sands extraction

OREANDA-NEWS. July 16, 2015. Suncor Energy will conduct a two-year pilot program to test a waterless extraction technique in the Alberta oil sands that uses radio waves to heat reservoirs.

The method — known as enhanced solvent extraction incorporating electromagnetic heating — has the potential to eliminate the need for water at in situ operations, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and other environmental impacts, Suncor said.

In situ recovery is generally used for bitumen deposits buried more than 100m deep and applies to about 80pc of Alberta's oil sands. Rather than using steam, the new technology uses a down-hole antenna that generates an electromagnetic field to heat the reservoir. A hydrocarbon solvent is then injected to dilute the bitumen so that it can be moved to the surface for further processing.

The company said the new technique should reduce environmental impacts, improve efficiency and reduce capital costs.

The pilot program will be at Suncor's Dover test site, north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

The patent-pending antenna technology was developed by engineering company Harris, with some funding from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation, a non-profit created by the Alberta government to support projects to reduce GHGs. Other partners in the pilot project include Devon and Nexen.

The companies have been collaborating on the technology since 2011 and conducted an initial physical testing in 2012 at Suncor's Steepbank mine facility.