A cheaper and more environmentally friendly way of extracting bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands is being developed that could revolutionize industry practices in the controversial region.
Oil company E-T Energy is at the forefront of developing a method called ET-DSP: Electro Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process. The process uses electricity and water to extract bitumen—composed of clay, sand, and crude—and is able to access oil that conventional methods are unable to reach.
E-T Energy’s CEO Bruce McGee began developing the method in the 1980s through his graduate work and environmental projects that studied how to extract chemical contaminants from clay.
Now he is applying the technology in the oil sands, with the aim of using it commercially.
“This technology enables the cheapest barrel of oil to be produced in the oil sands space. It uses the least amount of energy so there are a lot of companies who want to be able to approach their resources with this technology,” he says.
“The interest is definitely there.”
The ET-DSP process involves sending electrical currents through electrodes that uniformly heat the bitumen and enable it to rise to the surface of the well. After the well reaches peak temperatures, which takes a few months, production can begin.
Since the extracted bitumen is free of sand and emulsion, and requires little processing before being sold, the cost benefits are high. The production costs are about $8.50/barrel compared to conventional processes such as steam or mining that can average $18–$40/barrel.
In addition, the method also has significantly less environmental impact than conventional forms of extraction.
There are zero direct greenhouse gas emissions and the process does not use any potable water. The facilities needed to drill electrode wells are simple and compact, and much of the equipment can be reused, so disturbance to the natural habitat is minimal.
“There are no tailing ponds, there are no open pits that need to be cleaned up, there are no disturbances to the visible surface area that is going to stay in place for long periods of time,” says McGee.
“When you think of us in terms of the footprint perspective, you can think of us as a really small forestry company that comes in and clears a few acres of land.”
The ET-DSP method is not suitable for extraction deeper than 250 metres, but McGee says it can access 75 percent of oil sands bitumen that other companies cannot.
“We are the only company in the oil sands to ever produce those barrels. There are a lot of barrels that are available for our technology only.”
Currently Canada is the only country to use the E-T DSP method for commercial purposes, but companies in Australia and Europe have been using similar methods for environmental projects and contaminant clean-up.
E-T Energy is completing its final stages of development and testing in conjunction with beginning its first commercial project. McGee is confident it will be a success.
“This business is a culture of followers in many ways, and once a technology takes off they just tend to follow the leadership of that technology.”
