Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) and North West Upgrading Inc. (NWU) are moving forward with detailed engineering for the construction and operation of a $4 billion (Can.) bitumen upgrader near Redwater, Alta. The companies also have an agreement with Alberta to process the province’s royalty-in-kind bitumen and CNRL has agreed to provide 12,500 b/d of bitumen to Phase 1 of the facility. If the project is sanctioned once the engineering is complete, CNRL says Phase 1 will process 50,000 b/d of bitumen to finished products. An ultralow-sulfur diesel will comprise nearly half of the facility’s output, with the remainder to include products such as diluents, naphtha, and natural gas liquids. According to NWU, this project is the only one of its to combine gasification technology with carbon dioxide management. The facility will capture 1.2 million tonnes of CO2/phase, which will be sold to Enhance Energy Inc.’s Alberta Carbon Trunk Line for use in enhanced oil recovery before being sequestered.
