CSS pilot planned for Foster Creek

October 6, 2008 CALGARY -- EnCana Corporation is proposing to develop its first cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) pilot project in the Clearwater formation in the Cold Lake oilsands near its existing Foster Creek development.

The company expects to file an application to the Energy Resources Conservation Board before Christmas, said Rhona Del Frari, a company spokeswoman.

The development plan for the 50-well Clearwater pilot with production of up to 5,000 bbls per day over the lifetime of the project will be integrated into the Foster Creek approval scheme.

The first 12-well phase will be about 1,000 bbls per day “just to test it out,” said Del Frari. EnCana should know within six to eight months after the first steam is injected whether the pilot is successful. If it appears promising, the company will proceed to the full pilot. The well cycling will be every six to 12 months.

Because the CSS pilot site is about nine kilometres from the main Foster Creek facility, the proposed project includes a pipeline back to Foster Creek which will be built first.

At this point, there is no cost estimate for the project.

EnCana also is seeking approval to expand its Foster Creek development area by 13.5 sections (4,500 hectares) to accommodate the new project.

EnCana currently uses steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology in the Wabiskaw-McMurray formation at Foster Creek which is right on the edge of the Clearwater formation.

Imperial Oil Limited has been producing bitumen from the Clearwater formation at Cold Lake on a commercial basis using CSS since 1985. EnCana will be using a similar technique with some new technologies it believes will work better for it, said Del Frari. “The reservoir is also a bit different –it’s a bit further north than Imperial.”

The company has been producing a few cold heavy wells at the site of the proposed pilot but determined after a geological review that CSS might produce better results for that reservoir.

“They knew the oil was there and we have had the property for a long time and it is just part of moving along to explore other parts of our property,” she said.

© 2008 Nickle’s Energy Group.