PASTE & TAILINGS directional drilled well is drilled with 13” conductor pipe, 11” intermediate casing and 9-5 / 8” production casing. The last 20 m of well uses a unique half-moon casing. The well is completed with a 9” diameter auger that has a special underreamer to create a larger hole. The auger works to de-stabilise and break down the underground oil sand formation. Once the formation has been destabilised, the auger is used to pull back and transport the oil sand and water back through the well to the surface. The techniques used for the oil sand recovery are similar to those used in block caving or tunnelling principles but, rather than keeping the tunnel open, the purpose of the reaming is to allow the tunnel to collapse in a controlled way.
Upon the completion of the bitumen separation process, the froth product will have 40 % water and 5 % solids material remaining after the bitumen is skimmed off. Instead of disposing of this by-product in an ETF, the useable portion of aggregate will be screened off and re-used and / or sold. The remaining portion of solids will be mixed with recycled water and a binder to create a paste backfill. The paste backfill recipe is being tested and uses a blended binder of ordinary Portland cement( OPC) and cement kiln dust( CKD) which is waste product from the cement industry. The paste will be pumped to a vertical well and deployed
down into the end of the horizontal section to fill the underground void left from the oil sands recovery. As the oil sand formation is recovered, the well casing and auger are pulled back to facilitate continued extraction. This process is repeated every 100 m along the 1,000 m horizontal well section. For wider deposits, variation on the process will be explored moving some distance laterally in the deposit and drilling another well.
In order to prove some of the concepts in the GABETM process a pilot test is being undertaken at the Newby Project east of Fort McMurray, Alberta with three main objectives. First confirmation of the 85 % reduction in CO 2 emissions as compared to surface mining and thermal extraction methods. Then confirmation of land use reduction compared to surface mining operations and of the 1:1 water-tosands extraction process. The pilot will consist of one well with a 1,000 m-long horizontal section, which is planned to be the commercial length. The auger will be installed and will be able to open the hole to commercial sizes to confirm that the diameter of the hole will lead to oil sands collapse. Pilot activities will also include onsite warm water extraction, paste backfill, CO 2 sequestration and surface monitoring.
A key objective is to achieve an average of 250 bbl / day over five days, collect data during production, test the ability / durability
of downhole equipment, test model predictions and determine unforeseen technical issues.
Innovative pipeline solutions – Weir Arterra™
As tailings become coarser and slurry velocities increase, traditional pipeline materials are reaching their limits. Technologies like HPGRs and CPF have improved efficiency and mineral recovery but also produce coarser and sharper tailings.
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Arterra™ UHMWPE pipelines are emerging as a strong alternative to HDPE, particularly in demanding slurry transport environments. With a molecular weight of 35 × 10⁵ g / mol – over seven times that of HDPE – it offers exceptional durability, low