Syncrude?s Stage 3 begins production
Syncrude?s Stage 3 begins production
Posted By Fort McMurray Today
Posted 4 years ago
Syncrude Canada?s Stage 3 expansion project has begun production, according to the Canadian Oil Sands Trust.
The trust, which has a 35.5 per cent working interest in the Syncrude ownership group, announced Monday all Stage 3 units are online and production is expected to vary at first while the company works to stabilize output.
?It is a momentous day for Syncrude and its employees who have laboured for over four years in the construction of the Stage 3 expansion,? said Marcel Coutu, president and CEO of Canadian Oil Sands Trust.
UE-1 is an important part of the Stage 3 expansion, which is designed to increase productive capacity to average 350,000 barrels per day.
The capital cost for start-up of the expansion is estimated at $8.4 billion with additional post-startup costs of $150 million. This estimate is double the original price when the expansion began in 2001.
The Stage 3 investment also includes an improvement to product quality for the entire production stream to Syncrude Sweet Premium, pre-built capacity for a future debottlenecking growth stage, environmental mitigation measures and improvement and modernization of base plant operations.
Stage 3 expansion began in 2001, which made the project five years in the making.
The key component of the expansion is the new coker facility, which, according to Syncrude, is the largest coker of its type in the world.
The new coker is over 23 storeys tall. During construction peak, 6,000 people worked at the Syncrude site.
?The joint venture owners are delighted to have achieved this milestone ... Syncrude looks forward to entering a new era of volume production, bolstering its operating platform,? said Coutu, who is also the chairman of Syncrude Canada.
As well, the expansion includes pre-built capacity for future debottlenecking growth and environmental mitigation measures.
Canadian Oil Sands? partners at Syncrude -- the largest producer of crude from the oilsands -- include Imperial Oil Ltd., Petro-Canada, Nexen Inc. and some U.S. companies.
