Christina Lake Oil Sands Project

Summary Information

• Operator: Cenovus
• Country: Canada
• Location: 120 kilometres south of Fort McMurray, Alberta
• Production start: 2000
• Partners: ConocoPhillips
• Type: Oil
• Estimated Reserves:
• Production Volume:

Description

• The oil at Christina Lake is located about 375 metres below the surface and requires enhanced oil recovery technology to access and produce it.
• The primary technology used for this project is [[[Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage SAGD]]], which injects steam into the reservoir to soften the oil so it can be pumped to the surface.
• The project has been developed in phases, with phases A, B, C & D in operation
• Phases E, F & G are under development
• Oil from the project is processed at the Wood River Refinery
• Christina Lake is one of the most efficient SAGD facilities in the industry. It has a low steam to oil ratio (SOR), which means it uses less water and natural gas and creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions to produce a barrel of oil than other oil sands facilities of the same size.
• In 2019, the project had an average SOR of 2.0 This means we used approximately two barrels of steam to produce one barrel of oil.

Contractors

• **IMV Projects:** Detailed engineering services for the CLO 2012 Development

History

• 2000 - Production started
• 2011 - Cenovus received approval from the ERCB for three expansion phases (E, F and G)
• 2012 - Cenovus achieves first production from phase D Christina Lake expansion

Links

1. Christina Lake, Cenovus
2. New Work for Cenovus Energy – Christina Lake Offsites Development
3. Cenovus achieves first production at Christina Lake expansion
4. Cenovus receives approval to expand Christina Lake operation
5. Enbridge to Invest $0.2 Billion to Expand Sunday Creek Terminal