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The oilsands industry and Fort McMurray are exciting places
to be. Here's some information to demonstrate the point.
Extracting bitumen from sand and converting it to a useable
product is a complicated process, one that requires a wide
range of skills and a high level of cooperation. Did you know,
for example, that strategic decisions made in the mine can
affect the geotechnical design of a tailings pond in a wholly
different area of an oilsands operation? The geological characteristics
of oilsand sent to the processing unit have an almost immediate
impact on the ability to construct stable tailings structures
at the opposite end of the operation.
Within our professions alone, almost all of the disciplines
play a role in oilsands development. Rarely is such a range
of expertise required in one operation, contributing to the
creation of one product.
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"The extraction processes may seem simple enough --
mix oils and with water and chemicals, use gravity to allow
the oil to rise and the solids to settle. However, results
are governed by complex surface chemistry"
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Oilsands production is unique in that mining and mineral
processing are combined with petroleum refining. And that
poses a challenge. Traditional mining theory was not developed
with the steady-state needs of a refinery as the end-user.
In other words, the things school teaches cannot be applied
directly at work without consideration being given to the
nuances of the entire process, from mine design to the transfer
of product to the pipeline.
The extraction processes used in the Fort McMurray area are
unique to the oilsands. They may seem simple enough -- mix
oilsand with water and chemicals, use gravity to allow the
oil to rise and the solids to settle. However, results are
governed by complex surface chemistry.
The recovery of the bitumen is a function of many things,
some still unknown. It's been established that adequate mixing
of the slurry, particle size distribution, and the charges
on the particles in the slurry play key roles in recovery.
Yet these same factors affect the ability to create tailings
structures.
When we work in isolation, it is unlikely we can achieve
the best overall efficiency. The lowest cost mine plan may
not create the highest recovery or stable tailings structures.
When geologists, mining engineers, process engineers and geotechnical
specialists sit together and compare their information, the
cause and effect of geology on the downstream process is obvious.
The success of the oilsands industry lies in strong technical
specialization with an appreciation for the process upstream
and downstream. It is the difference between reacting to events
as they happen and creating a process that can be predicted,
controlled and optimized at all stages.
From a career perspective, the oilsands offer many opportunities
and challenges, especially for our professions. There are
few boundaries. Because the success of this work depends on
the expertise of specialists and a general understanding of
the overall operation, all combinations of knowledge are encouraged.
Many engineers and geoscientists do not spend their careers
in the field of their degree. And every project provides opportunities
to learn about a new field or a new process: queuing trucks,
optimizing reactor performance, improving wear material, designing
seals, studying smetitic clays, measuring tailings dyke stability,
full scale plant performance testing, safety and so much more.
Golf Tourney Soon
Another good reason to be in Fort McMurray is the activity
of your branch. Now that summer vacations are over, it's a
good time to let you know what is coming up next.
Top off the summer at our golf tournament on Sept. 20. We
are also planning a professional development day for this
fall. Look for us during Science and Technology Week. If you
like fine wine, take note. We will again hold our wine tasting/wine
and cheese social.
If you live in For McMurray but have a permanent address elsewhere,
you may not be receiving our event notices directly from APEGGA.
If you want to know more about our events, please contact
any member of our branch executive listed in the branches
section of the APEGGA website, www.apegga.org.
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