Page 15 - AIF - English

provided by both mining and extraction and in situ generation from cogeneration units is used at Oil Sands

operations.
Base facilities or sold to the power grid.

• Maintenance and feedstock supply
Other Mining Leases
Suncor owns several other oil sands leases, including those Central processing facilities, steam generation units and

known as Voyageur South and Audet, which it believes can well pads are all subject to routine inspection and
be developed using mining techniques. Suncor undertakes maintenance cycles.

exploratory drilling programs on such leases from time-to- SAGD production volumes are impacted by reservoir
time, as part of its mine replacement projects. Suncor holds
quality and the capacity of central processing facilities
a 100% working interest in both Voyageur South
and steam generation units to process liquids and
and Audet.
generate steam. As with conventional oil and gas
The Voyageur South project is in the early stages of properties, SAGD wells will experience natural

planning and the development timing for the project is production declines after several years. In an effort to
currently under assessment. Development options are maintain bitumen supply, Suncor drills new wells from

currently being prepared for review in 2014.
existing well pads or develops and constructs new
well pads.

In Situ Operations
Suncor’s In Situ operations, Firebag and MacKay River, use In Situ Assets

SAGD technology to produce bitumen from oil sands Firebag
deposits that are too deep to be mined economically.
Production from Suncor’s Firebag operations commenced in
2004. Suncor’s Firebag complex consists of four central
• The SAGD process
processing facilities with total bitumen processing capacity
The SAGD process requires drilling pairs of horizontal of approximately 180 mbbls/d. Actual production from
wells with one located above the other. To help reduce
Firebag varies based on steaming and ramp-up periods for
land disturbance and improve cost efficiency, well pairs new wells, planned and unplanned maintenance, reservoir
are drilled from multi-well pads. Steam is injected into
conditions and other factors.
the upper well to create a high-temperature steam
chamber underground. This process reduces the As at December 31, 2013, Firebag had nine well pads in
operation with 119 SAGD well pairs and 18 infill wells
viscosity of the bitumen, allowing heated bitumen and
condensed steam to drain into the bottom well and either producing or on initial steam injection. Central
processing facilities have been designed to be flexible as to
flow up to the surface aided by subsurface pumps or
circulating gas.
which well pads supply bitumen. Steam generated at the
various facilities can be used at multiple well pads. In

• Central processing facilities
addition, Firebag includes five cogeneration units that
generate steam, which are capable of producing 425 MW
The bitumen and water mixture is pumped to
separation units at central processing facilities, where of electricity made up of Firebag site power load of
110 MW and exports of 315 MW. There are also 13 OTSGs
the water is removed from the bitumen, treated and
recycled for use in steam generation. To facilitate at the site for additional steam generation.

shipment, In Situ operations blend diluent with
As of December 31, 2013, the cumulative SOR at Firebag
the bitumen, or transport it on an insulated pipeline as was 3.3 (2012 – 3.4).

hot bitumen. The bitumen is either upgraded at Oil
Sands Base upgrading facilities or blended with MacKay River

internally produced or imported diluent, and sold Production from MacKay River commenced in 2002. As at
directly to market.
December 31, 2013, MacKay River included six well pads

with 74 well pairs either producing or on initial steam
• Power and steam generation
injection. The MacKay River central processing facilities

Once Through Steam Generators (OTSGs) are powered have bitumen processing capacity of approximately
30 mbbls/d. A third party owns the on-site cogeneration
by both natural gas and gas vapours recovered at
central processing facilities. Cogeneration units are unit that is used to generate steam and electricity which
Suncor operates under a commercial agreement. There are
energy-efficient systems, which use natural gas
combustion to power turbines that generate electricity also four OTSGs at the site for additional steam generation.
The company has commenced a debottlenecking project of
and steam used in SAGD operations. Excess electricity
existing central processing facilities that is expected to

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM 2014 13