A Dynamic Economic Analysis of Oil Sands Process Water (OSPW) treatment alternatives in Alberta / Working Paper

Abstract

Alberta’s Oil Sands is the World’s 3rd largest proven oil reserve. About half of the current extraction is by open pit mining, which generates Oil Sands Process Water (OSPW), a complex mixture of solids, residual bitumen, inorganics, and organic constituents. As part of their obligations, Oil Sands companies must treat the OSPW, before it can be released to the environment, as part of an overall reclamation plan for the land and water disturbed by their activities. Using the information available from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and Canada’s Oils Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), as well as partnerships with chemical engineers and reclamation experts, we were able to build a mathematical programming model where we can identify trade-offs among different technologies. The model allows us to show how different regulatory standards and approaches for reclaimed OSPW might affect technology choice, costs, and optimal timing of OSPW treatments.