Exxon Mobil has started production at its Kearl oil sands project in Alberta, Canada, from the first of three froth treatment trains.
Startup of two additional bitumen froth trains will proceed in sequence as planned, bringing production from the initial development to an expected 110,000 bbl/d later in 2013. An expansion project has been fully funded and will bring on an additional 110,000 bbl/d of bitumen production capacity late 2015 using ExxonMobil’s successful Design One Build Many approach, enabling 90% of initial development engineering to be reused. Future debottlenecking plans will be based on actual operating experience and result in Kearl reaching its ultimate production capacity of approximately 345,000 bbl/d by about 2020.
The Kearl project is located about 75 km northeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta, and is operated by ExxonMobil affiliate, Imperial Oil.