Syncrude

Syncrude Canada Ltd. is one of the world's largest producers of synthetic crude oil from oil sands and the largest single source producer in Canada. It is located just outside Fort McMurray in the Athabasca Oil Sands, and has a nameplate capacity of 350000 oilbbl/d of oil, equivalent to about 13% of Canada's consumption.[1] It has approximately 5.1 Goilbbl of proven and probable reserves (11.9 billion when including contingent and prospective resources) situated on 8 leases over 3 contiguous sites.[2] Including fully realized prospective reserves, current production capacity could be sustained for well over 90 years.[3]

As of 2021, Syncrude's Mildred Lake site remains the largest single greenhouse gas emitter in Canada.[4]

History

Syncrude was formed as a research consortium in 1964 by Ryan Sheppard.

Oil sands tailings pond water

Syncrude is a member of Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), an alliance of oil sands producers formed in 2012, who share research on Environmental Priority Areas (EPAs) such as tailing pond water and greenhouse gases. One of the major challenges facing COSIA is the treatment of oil sands tailings pond water. "Tailings are the sand, silt, clay and water found naturally in oil sands that remain following the mining and bitumen extraction process."[16] The problem stems from the hot water process used by Suncor and Syncrude to extract bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands which produce large quantities of tailings pond sludge which remains stable for decades. By 1990 it was considered to be the "imminent environmental constraint to future use of the hot water process."[17] Syncrude[18] also contributes to the industry-funded Joint Oil sands Monitoring Program which was created in 2012[19] and managed by the federal and Alberta governments. According to a 2013 article published in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, the tailings ponds contain toxic chemicals such as "naphthenic acids (NAs) and process chemicals (e.g., alkyl sulphates, quaternary ammonium compounds, and alkylphenol ethoxylates)." The study used the computer program (CXTFIT) to evaluate the transport behaviour of these contaminants through the foundation as well as underground. The chemicals seep "through the foundation of the tailings pond to the subsurface, potentially affecting the quality of groundwater."[20]

In an article accepted for publication in Environmental Science and Technology journal in January 2014, Environment Canada's Richard Frank and his team of scientists confirmed that, using new technology, they were able to "fingerprint the mix of groundwater chemicals in the area" proving that oil sands tailings pond water had leached into groundwater and the Athabasca River.[21] The study undertaken by a new federal-provincial oil sands monitoring program used new $1.6-million technology acquired in 2010. The equipment is able to "fingerprint chemicals and trace them back to where they came from."[22]

Greenpeace lawsuit

In August 2008, Syncrude Canada filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace Canada for $120,000, plus costs, after 11 Greenpeace activists went on to the company's Aurora North oil sands site July 24, 2008, to unfurl anti-oil sands banners and unsuccessfully block a tailings pipe. Company spokesperson Mark Kruger said the company filed the lawsuit—which also names the activists individually—largely because of safety concerns as the activists were "unfamiliar with an industrial operation, and unfamiliar with some of the safety hazards that can be present... We just want to ensure that, in the future, nobody is putting themselves at unnecessary risk."

Greenpeace chose the Syncrude site for the protest because in April 2008, 1,600 migrating ducks died[23] after landing on a tailings pond at the site (Syncrude was fined $3 million).[24]

type	Joint Venture
foundation	December 1964
location	Quarry Park, Calgary, Alberta
industry	Petroleum
products	synthetic crude oil
num employees	5,600 (2009)
owner	Imperial Oil Nexen Sinopec Suncor Energy
homepage	syncrude.ca

History

Ownership

Controversies

Pollution

Oil sands tailings pond water

Greenpeace lawsuit

Sponsorships

Keyano College

See also

Further reading

External links

References