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ERCB approves Fort Hills and Syncrude pond plans with conditions
News Articles | Government of Alberta | NEWS RELEASE | April 23, 2010
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Calgary… The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has given conditional approval for plans by the Fort Hills Oil Sands Project and Syncrude with dates for construction, use and closure of fluid tailings ponds under Directive 074: Tailings Performance Criteria and Requirements for Oil Sands Mining Schemes. The two tailings plans are the first of those submitted by six oil sands operators in September 2009 to be decided upon by the ERCB.
Fort Hills plans to operate one tailings pond with a tailings storage capacity of 322 million cubic metres, which will operate for approximately 22 years with a plan to dry tailings to a trafficable surface in compliance with Directive 074. The ERCB has imposed two conditions focusing on technology testing and tailings management in its approval of the Fort Hills tailings plan, which are included in the attached backgrounder. Suncor Energy Ltd, UTS Energy Corporation, Teck Limited and Fort Hills Energy Corporation are partners in the Fort Hills project. Located 90 km north of Fort McMurray, the project is in a pre-construction phase.
The ERCB has placed six conditions on its approval for Syncrude’s Mildred Lake site, located about 40 km northwest of Fort McMurray. The site currently deposits tailings in five tailings areas. These areas have a fluid fine tailings inventory of 430 million cubic metres and are scheduled to be returned to a trafficable surface in 2016, 2020 and 2023, with the Mildred Lake Settling Basin scheduled for return to a trafficable surface in 2060.
The ERCB has placed six conditions on its approval for Syncrude’s Aurora North site, located about 80 km northeast of Fort McMurray. The site currently operates a single tailings pond with a current fluid fine tailings inventory of 75 million cubic metres, which is scheduled to be returned to a trafficable surface in 2037. Syncrude is currently in the design stage of a Composite Tailings plant at Aurora and plans to have this plant operational and in compliance with the Directive in 2014. Syncrude currently utilizes Composite Tailings technology to convert fluid tailings to a solid deposit.
The Syncrude plans as originally filed on September 30, 2009, did not fully meet ERCB requirements. Subsequent consultations between Syncrude and the ERCB have seen significant improvements to the company’s plans. The ERCB has imposed conditions (see backgrounder) on Syncrude’s approval that will enable the company to meet and exceed Directive 074 requirements by 2014.
Syncrude has also proposed the addition of new technology to comply with Directive 074; to ensure its timely development, the ERCB requires that development and implementation milestones be adhered to, including a commercial demonstration plant for Mature Fine Tailings Centrifugation (which separates tailings to water, clay and silt) be in operation by August 2012. Syncrude must also construct and start up a full-scale supplemental tailings plant by June 2015.
ERCB staff are reviewing tailings plans submitted by Albian Sands Energy Inc., Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited, Shell Canada Inc. and Suncor.
The next tailings pond slated to be returned to a trafficable surface is Suncor’s Pond 1; it is expected to be returned to a trafficable surface by the end of this year.
Directive 074: Tailings Performance Criteria and Requirements for Oil Sands Mining Schemes requires operators to prepare tailings plans and report on tailings ponds annually, reduce fluid tailings through fines captured in dedicated disposal areas, and convert fines into trafficable deposits which are ready for reclamation five years after deposits have ceased.
Tagged with: syncrude, tailings ponds, energy resource conservation board, fort hills energy corporation, fort hills oil sands project, suncor energy ltd, teck limited, uts energy
