Scotford Upgrader

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The Shell Scotford Upgrader is an oilsand upgrader, a facility which processes crude bitumen (extra-heavy crude oil) from oil sands into a wide range of synthetic crude oils. The upgrader is owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP), a joint venture of Shell Canada Energy (60%), Marathon Oil Sands L.P. (20%) and Chevron Canada Limited (20%). The facility is located in the industrial development of Scotford, just to the northwest of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta in the Edmonton Capital Region.^[1]

It has a rated processing capacity of 155,000 barrels per day (24,600 m³/d), but has at times pumped out more than 200,000 bbl/d (32,000 m³/d).^[2] It was shut down after being damaged in a fire 19 November 2007. The production was resumed in December 2007.^[3]

The facility uses hydrogen addition to convert the bitumen from Shell's Muskeg River Mine in the Athabasca oil sands into refinery-ready sweet, light crude oil. The Muskeg River Mine is the first commercial unit using Shell's Enhance froth treatment technology — a process for removing sand, fine clay and water from oil sands froth to make clean bitumen suitable for upgrading via hydrogen addition.^[4]

According to Shell, the hydrogenation process is well suited to the very clean bitumen produced at the Muskeg River Mine, and results in the upgrader producing more light crude oil than it inputs in the form of heavy bitumen. It also produces lower levels of sulfur dioxide emissions than the alternative coking method which removes carbon to produce petroleum coke as a by-product. The Scotford Upgrader has its own hydrogen manufacturing unit and produces most of the hydrogen required for the hydrogen-addition process

The Scotford Upgrader is located next to Shell's Scotford Refinery, forming the Scotford Complex 40 km northeast of Edmonton, Alberta. Much of the output of the Scotford Upgrader is sold to the Scotford Refinery. Both light and heavy crudes are also sold to Shell's Sarnia Refinery in Ontario. The rest of the synthetic crude is sold to the general marketplace.

The Scotford Upgrader capacity will be expanded by 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m³/d) by March 2010, an increase of 60% in capacity. In May 2007, the US$9 billion to US$11.3 billion expansion contract was awarded to KBR. KBR will build 160 modules and perform construction work for the atmospheric and vacuum unit and sulphur recovery unit.^[5]