Nuclear Technology & Canadian Oil Sands Integration of Nuclear Power with In-Situ Oil Extraction G. Becerra, E. Esparza, A. Finan, E. Helvenston, S. Hembrador, K. Hohn- holt, T. Khan, D. Legault, M. Lyttle, K. Miu, C. Murray, N. Parmar, S. Sheppard, C. Sizer, E. Zakszewski, K. Zeller December 2005 Abstract This report analyzes the technical aspects and the economics of utilizing nuclear reactor to provide the energy needed for a Canadian oil sands extraction facility using Steam- Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) technology. The energy from the nuclear reactor would replace the need for energy supplied by natural gas, which is currently burned at these facilities. There are a number of concerns surrounding the continued use of natural gas, including carbon dioxide emissions and increasing gas prices. Three scenarios for the use of the reactor are analyzed: using the reactor to produce only the steam needed for the SAGD process; using the reactor to produce steam as well as electricity for the oil sands facility; and using the reactor to produce steam, electricity, and hydrogen for upgrading the bitumen from the oil sands to syncrude, a material similar to conventional crude oil. The report shows that nuclear energy would be feasible, practical, and economical for use at an oil sands facility. Nuclear energy is two to three times cheaper than natural gas for each of the three scenarios analyzed. Also, by using nuclear energy instead of natural gas, a plant producing 100,000 barrels of bitumen per day would prevent up to 100 megatonnes of CO2 per year from being released into the atmosphere. i Acknowledgements The Class of 2006 MIT Nuclear Design Team was very fortunate to have the enthusiasm, knowledge, and talents of Professor Andrew Kadak. We would like to extend to him our deepest gratitude for creating such an exciting project. His feedback at every major turning point kept us on track and was integral to our success. Ryan Hannink, the Teaching Assistant for our project, provided guidance for our team. We would like to thank him for his tireless patience in attending group meetings and editing numerous drafts. The design team would also like to thank guest speakers Julian Lebenhaft of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and William Green of MIT's Chemical Engineering Depart- ment. Dr. Lebehhaft's presentation on CANDU reactors and his thoughtful answers to our inquiries on Canadian oil ¯elds was very insightful. Professor Green's feedback in the early stages of our project helped us to focus our work. Additionally, we would like to thank the following people and organizations for their pro- vision of integral resources: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Westinghouse Electric Company, James Fong of Petro-Canada, Bilge Yildiz of Argonne National Laboratory, Brian Rolfe of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Michael Stawicki and Professor Mujid Kazimi of the MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering Department, Thomas Dow- nar of Purdue, and Daniel Bersak of DRB photography. The design team would like to extend our appreciation to MIT alumnus Curtis Smith of INL for his assistance in obtaining information on nuclear-hydrogen plant co-location. Finally, we would like to thank the MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, without whom we would not have been able to create this project. To the many fac- ulty members whom we inquired with questions, we extend our sincere thanks for your thoughtful and timely responses. ii Executive Summary Purpose This report analyzes the feasibility of integrating a nuclear power plant with Steam- Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), an oil extraction technology currently used in Cana- dian oil sands projects. Natural gas-¯red plants provide the energy for projects today, but concerns are heightening within the industry over increased carbon dioxide emissions, volatile natural gas prices, and depletion of the natural gas reserves. Nuclear power is an emission-free alternative to natural gas, but the key to implementation hinges on whether or not nuclear systems can compete economically with natural gas-¯red plants in the oil sands industry. The Canadian Oil Sands Industry The oil sands deposits in Canada are a major source of crude oil, but, unlike conventional oil, it is in the form of a heavy oil called bitumen, which is too viscous to pump to the surface and requires lots of energy to upgrade into synthetic crude oil [1]. The two general classes of oil sands recovery are mining and in-situ. In mining, the oil sands ore is recovered above ground by electric or hydraulic shovels and transported by heavy-ton trucks before the bitumen can be extracted. For in-situ methods, most of the bitumen is separated from the oil sands in the deposit by injecting steam into the ground to separate the bitumen from the sand. The bitumen is then pumped to the surface for further processing. Most oil sands operations are performed by mining today, but approximately 80% of the deposits in Canada are too deep for surface mining and can only be recovered by in-situ methods [2]. Integration of Nuclear with Oil Sands Facilities With the exception of labor costs, the largest expense for both open-pit mining and in- situ projects is the energy demand [3]. Natural gas-¯red plants currently provide the energy for both open-pit mining and in-situ projects, but the rising prices of natural gas and increasing concerns over greenhouse gas emissions make nuclear energy an attractive option. Although surface mining is the predominant form of oil sands extraction, its iii supply is limited, since most reserves are only obtainable by in-situ methods. The focus of this report is on the SAGD method of in-situ oil extraction, which is judged to be the preferable choice for future operations. Natural Gas Natural gas is the primary source of energy used in the oil sands industry for recovery, extraction, upgrading, and other site operations. As the price of natural gas rises, due to a decrease in reserves and an increase in demand from personal and industrial use, the cost e®ectiveness of oil sands operations decreases. The cost of natural gas has been increasing in the last year, creating an environment in which alternatives to natural gas are being sought. Burning natural gas as fuel releases unwanted CO2 emissions. Currently, Canada and other countries are working to decrease CO2 emissions as part of the Kyoto accords. Integration of emissions-free nuclear technology with oil sands operations will remove the dependence of the price of oil from oil sands on the volatile and high price of natural gas and also address the problem of CO2 emissions. Energy Requirements Extraction facilities can be divided into three general categories: those that only require process heat, those that require process heat and electricity, and those that require process heat, electricity, and hydrogen to upgrade the bitumen to syncrude on site. In order to compare the di®erent scenarios, a processing plant capable of producing 100,000 barrels per day of bitumen was assumed as a reference design. 100,000 barrels of bitumen can be upgrading to approximately 87,000 barrels of synthetic crude. The thermal requirements for each scenario are calculated and compared to the available output for several reactor systems. The ¯rst scenario requires only process heat to be produced on-site. Electricity for on- site demands is assumed to be taken from the Alberta electric grid and the bitumen, diluted to enable piping, is sold as diluted bitumen (dilbit) to a processing plant. The energy requirements for this process are relatively straight-forward, as they are derived solely from the thermal requirements of the extraction process. The thermal energy requirements for this scenario range from 820 MWth to 1,264 MWth. The second scenario requires electricity in addition to process heat. In certain areas of Alberta, the transmission lines are somewhat unreliable. Furthermore, the large energy capabilities of a nuclear reactor enable this addition to be made with only the extra capital cost of the turbine systems. This scenario also produces dilbit that is shipped o® site after extraction. The energy requirements for this scenario include approximately 1,200 MWth steam and 250 MWe. iv The third and ¯nal scenario is a self-contained facility that produces its own electric- ity and process heat and re¯nes the product on site from bitumen into synthetic crude oil (syncrude). To be completely self-su±cient, the scenario includes the production of hydrogen, an essential component in bitumen re¯ning. Using high temperature steam electrolysis, the facility will produce hydrogen and re¯ne the bitumen. The energy re- quirements for this scenario include approximately 1,300 MWth steam and 740 MWe. Nuclear Reactor Design Options Eleven di®erent reactor systems were considered for this application and only three were down-selected to be appropriate for the mission of providing the energy needs required. These include the ACR-700, a Canadian pressurized online refueling heavy water mod- erated, light water cooled reactor; the AP600, a Westinghouse pressurized reactor which has been certi¯ed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, a 400 MWth high temperature helium cooled, online refueling gas reactor be- ing developed in South Africa and China, and being considered in the US for the Next Generation Nuclear Power Plant. The most salient characteristics of each reactor include the thermal and electric power outputs, core outlet temperatures, fuel type, and coolant type. An evaluation of design speci¯c characteristics that bene¯t and impede the oil sands extraction process is used to distinguish reactors. It should be noted that the Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd. is now pursuing an 1,100 MWe design based on the ACR-700 technology, and that Westinghouse has a larger version of the AP600 in the AP1000.