Patrick Dardis | RE/MAX Fort McMurray
Albian Sands
The newest producing oil sands project is at Muskeg River Mine, approximately 85 kms north of Fort McMurray. The mine is operated by Albian Sands Energy Inc., but owned by Shell (60%), and Chevron Canada and Western Oil Sands (each with 20% ownership). The mine will produce 155,000 bpd of bitumen, which after upgrading, will provide refiners with transport fuel feedstock. The $5.7 billion Athabasca Oil Sands Project joint venture has two primary components, one of which includes the Muskeg River Mine. The new joint venture of Albian Sands is responsible for the employment, construction and operation of this project. The second component is the Scotford Upgrader situated further south in Fort Saskatchewan. Albian Sands recently started recovering the more than 1.65 billion barrels of recoverable bitumen, which holds a thick, high-quality ore zone close to the surface, making it ideally suited to mining. About 500 Albian Sands employees will be mining and extracting a projected 155,000 bpd of bitumen for the next 30 years. Expansion plans for the Muskeg River Mine are in a preliminary stage and are tentatively slated to begin 2005 to 2010. Further oil sands development includes Phase I of Jackpine Mine, which when fully producing will add another 200,000 bpd of bitumen. The expansion is scheduled to begin in 2010. Phase II of Jackpine Mine is also in a preliminary planning stage, with a startup in 2010 to 2015. This will inject an additional 100,000 bpd into Albian's oil sands market base.
