Project Status
One of the most frequently asked questions about Alberta's Industrial Heartland is the status of the various projects that have been announced or are under construction. The status of each major project in the Heartland is indicated below. Please contact the individual companies directly for additional information.
Feature Stories on Heartland Projects
The following stories appeared in past editions of our quarterly e-newsletter and feature projects in Alberta's Industrial Heartland. Click on a project to learn more.
From Homemade Volcanoes to Oil Recovery
Enhance Energy plays their part in changing the role of CO2
December 2011
Converting Byproduct into Feedstock
Aux Sable's Heartland Offgas Plant is an "Alberta First"
December 2011
Status of Projects Announced or Under Construction:
| Alberta Sulphur Terminals Ltd (Hazco) |
| Location |
Lamont County |
| Project Description |
Sulphur forming and shipping facility |
| Capital Cost |
$30 million |
| Status |
Regulatory approval received in August 2009; construction will depend on timing and construction of upgraders in the Heartland area |
| Aux Sable |
| Location |
Fort Saskatchewan |
| Project Description |
Off-gas processing facility producing hydrogen, ethane, and a propane-plus mix |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
Facility commissioned in September 2011 and has been operational since |
| BA Energy (Value Creation) |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
260,000 barrel/day diluted bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost |
Under review |
| Status |
Construction suspended in 2008; commercial and engineering work continues with the view to recommence the project |
| Fort Hills Energy Ltd Partnership |
| Location |
Sturgeon County |
| Project Description |
350,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
A joint venture between Suncor, Total and Teck Cominco; merger between Suncor and Petro-Canada completed in August 2009; project has received all regulatory approvals from ERCB and Alberta Environment; future construction is dependent on review currently underway at Suncor regarding the timing of their bitumen extraction and upgrading assets; the sale of UTS's 20% share of the Fort Hills project to Total E&P Canada has been completed. |
| Keyera |
| Location |
Pipeline connecting Keyera's Edmonton logistics terminal and the Keyera-operated Fort Saskatchewan fractionation and storage facility |
| Project Description |
Lease of a 6 inch 30 km pipeline and associated construction to augment Keyera's current NGL pipeline system, allowing them to deliver condensate and butane at increased rates |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
In regulatory process |
| Kinder Morgan |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
Sulphur forming and handling facility |
| Capital Cost |
$50 - $60 million |
| Status |
Project deferred |
| King Tech Maple Resources |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
Spent catalyst recovery |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
Project deferred |
| Maxim Power Corporation |
| Location |
Lamont County |
| Project Description |
The Deerland Peaking Station will be a natural-gas-fired power generation facility that produces 190 MW |
| Capital Cost |
$140 million |
| Status |
Received regulatory approval in June 2008; ongoing discussions and project planning |
| North West Redwater Partnership |
| Location |
Sturgeon County |
| Project Description |
150,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader and diesel refinery (over 3 phases) |
| Capital Cost |
$5 billion for phase 1 (50,000 barrels per day) |
| Status |
Project is owned by the North West Redwater Partnership, a joint venture between North West Upgrading Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Limited, with each company holding a 50% stake; the Partnership targets to build, manage, and operate a 150,000 barrels per day bitumen refindery over three phases; signing the Bitumen Royalty in Kind agreement this past February with the Government of Alberta has resulted in accelerated engineering and design, targeting a sanction of the first phase in late 2011 or early 2012; on-site work is minimal, including only basic site preparation and other limited activities continuing throughout the remainder of this year; once the project is officially sanctioned, significant on-site work is expected to commence, likely in 2012 after the site is clear of snow and mud; facility planned to be operational in 2014 with phases 2 and 3 to follow |
| Shell Canada, Upgrader 1 (Expansion) |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
100,000 barrel/day expansion to existing upgrading facility |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
First commercial production in April 2011 |
| Shell Canada, Upgrader 2 (Phase 1 to 4) |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
Four additional expansions of 100,000 bbl/day each to upgrading capacity |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
Company withdrew regulatory application in October 2010 |
| Shell Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
Quest is a fully integrated CCS project, meaning it would capture, transport, inject and store carbon dioxide (CO2); over one million tonnes of CO2 per year would be captured per year from the Scotford Upgrader beginning around 2015; the CO2 would then be transported safely by pipeline to an injection location north of Shell Scotford and stored permanently more than two kilometres deep under thick layers of impermeable geological formations
|
| Capital Cost |
$1.35 billion (government estimate includes both capital costs as well as operating costs for 10 years) |
| Status |
Regulatory application submitted in November 2010 |
| StatOil Canada Ltd |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
240,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost |
$14.4 billion |
| Status |
Company withdrew regulatory application in 2008 |
| Total E&P Canada |
| Location |
Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
295,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost |
$7 - 9 billion |
| Status |
Project deferred; joint venture announced in December 2010 with Suncor to proceed with projects in the Fort McMurray area instead; received ERCB approval in September 2010 |
| Williams |
| Location |
Sturgeon County |
| Project Description |
The 12 inch Williams Boreal Pipeline is proposed to transport high vapour pressure liquids from Fort McMurray to Sturgeon County |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
Application submitted to ERCB in June 2009; pending regulatory approval, pipeline expected to be operational by 2012 |
| Williams / Provident Energy |
| Location |
Sturgeon County |
| Project Description |
Modification to the existing fractionation and storage Redwater Facility to allow for extraction of ethane/ethylene as a marketable product and transport to customers via existing pipelines |
| Capital Cost |
Unknown |
| Status |
Williams and Provident are working interest partners in the Redwater Facility with Williams being the owner and Provident being the operator; currently in regulatory process; following final sanctioning of the project by Williams, and pending regulatory approvals, site construction would begin in 2012 with the facility operational by November 2012 |
