[Denny]

This is an update on Petrobank's results recently, things are looking up wiht the THAI process.

See Globe and Mail

An excerpt:

"The company has encountered a fair amount of skepticism, not unusual in an industry that doesn't always embrace new technologies, said Chris Bloomer, Petrobank's vice-president of heavy oil. However, the success of the pilot project indicates THAI is a viable option for future oil sands projects, he said.

"This is a game-changing project; we proved it in the laboratory, but we needed to prove it in the field. We've done that; now we just have to optimize and enhance it."

While Petrobank is coy about just how much its three pairs of wells at Whitesands produce, output rates of as much as 1,000 barrels a day of crude appear to have been achieved. However, issues of large amounts of fine sand gathering at the extraction well have also been encountered.

The next step for Petrobank is to bring on three more pairs of wells, which will be further apart and will test out a potential enhancement to THAI, called CAPRI, in which a nickel-based catalyst is added to the well bore, potentially further increasing the amount of upgrading that happens in the reservoir to the extent that crude produced could flow down a pipeline. "We think THAI is effectively an in-situ coker, and we hope CAPRI could be an in-situ catalytic cracker," Mr. Bloomer said."

[Denny]

This is an update on Petrobank's results recently, things are looking up wiht the THAI process.

See Globe and Mail

An excerpt:

"The company has encountered a fair amount of skepticism, not unusual in an industry that doesn't always embrace new technologies, said Chris Bloomer, Petrobank's vice-president of heavy oil. However, the success of the pilot project indicates THAI is a viable option for future oil sands projects, he said.

"This is a game-changing project; we proved it in the laboratory, but we needed to prove it in the field. We've done that; now we just have to optimize and enhance it."

While Petrobank is coy about just how much its three pairs of wells at Whitesands produce, output rates of as much as 1,000 barrels a day of crude appear to have been achieved. However, issues of large amounts of fine sand gathering at the extraction well have also been encountered.

The next step for Petrobank is to bring on three more pairs of wells, which will be further apart and will test out a potential enhancement to THAI, called CAPRI, in which a nickel-based catalyst is added to the well bore, potentially further increasing the amount of upgrading that happens in the reservoir to the extent that crude produced could flow down a pipeline. "We think THAI is effectively an in-situ coker, and we hope CAPRI could be an in-situ catalytic cracker," Mr. Bloomer said."

[FoxV]

Today Petrobank (which I have a few shares of) jumped 4% on the open even though oil is currently down 1%

So decided to check out their news releases to see what's going on (Petrobank has been skyrocketing recently, but this jump was out of the ordinary even for them)

anyways, this is what they had
PETROBANK SIGNS THAI™ LICENCE AGREEMENT AND ACQUIRES HEAVY OIL ASSETS (pdf)

The acquisition of the Dawson Property and the licensing agreement with Duvernay is an important first step in Petrobank’s development plans for the commercialization of the THAI™ technology on a global basis. The Dawson Property and AMI cover an extensive heavy oil belt with a number of large existing conventional cold heavy oil production operations that typically recover only 6 to 10 percent of the original-oil-in-place. The application of the THAI™ process in these reservoirs has the potential to increase recoveries up to 70 to 80 percent.

Looks like they are moving out of Whitesands and bring THAI into mainstream production.

(btw, not trying to promote a stock here, just thought I'd keep everyone up to date about THAI)

[rockdoc123]

I would be very surprised to see them attempt a largish commercial project in Alberta given the new royalties. THAI is pretty costly and like SAGD has suffered from rising sector costs. I suspect they are planning on implementing this technology in a bigger way in Latin America where they have considerable heavy oil holdings.

[Graeme]

Massive Canadian Oilfield Could Be Exploited Using New System

Duvernay Petroleum is to use the revolutionary Toe-to-Heel Air Injection (THAI™) system developed at the University of Bath at its site at Peace River in Alberta, Canada.

Unlike conventional light oil, heavy oil is very viscous, like syrup, or even solid in its natural state underground, making it very difficult to extract. But heavy oil reserves that could keep the planet’s oil-dependent economy going for a hundred years lie beneath the surface in many countries, especially in Canada.

Duvernay Petroleum’s heavy oil field in Peace River contains 100 million barrels and this will be a first test of THAI™ on heavy oil, for which THAI™ was originally developed. Duvernay Petroleum has signed a contract with the Canadian firm Petrobank, which owns THAI™, to use the process.

The THAI™ process was first used by Petrobank at its Christina Lake site in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Canada, in June 2006 in a pilot operation which is currently producing 3,000 barrels of oil a day. This was on deposits of bitumen - similar to the surface coating of roads - rather than heavy oil.

Petrobank is applying for permission to expand this to 10,000 barrels a day though there is a potential for this to rise to 100,000.

The 50,000 acre site owned by Petrobank contains an estimated 2.6 billion barrels of bitumen. The Athabasca Oil Sands region is the single largest petroleum deposit on earth, bigger than that of Saudi Arabia.

sciencedaily

[JustaGirl]

New update for CAPRI. I'll just post the link since the article is pretty long.


CAPRI

[Tanada]

I spent several hours today hunting around without success so I am asking here. Does anyone know what percentage of tresevoirs world wide and in North America specifically are snadstone vs carbonate?

I have had no luck finding out what source rock makes up Cantarell but it occurs to me that if it is sandstone THAI might be an applicable technology to get another few hundred million barrels of oil out of the resevoir, especially as a Nitrogen flood was used so the top of the resevoir should be relatively speaking dry and easy to flame flood.

[TheDude]

Cantarell is composed of carbonate breccia, formed from the meteor strike that created the Chicxulub Crater and caused the K-T boundary event. Dunno if THAI would do it much good.

[Tanada]

Cantarell is composed of carbonate breccia, formed from the meteor strike that created the Chicxulub Crater and caused the K-T boundary event. Dunno if THAI would do it much good.

Thanx, my undewrstanding is that carbonate formations can't use THAI because the CaCO3 breaks down from the heat and makes a real mess, as I understand it.

[TheDude]

Cantarell Declines has a brief analysis of the geology as well. Curious thing about the source rock is that it's the type of stuff usually found as basement. Like any EOR tool THAI might be applicable to some fields and not others - hence the Guiness book record set for the Cantarell Nitrogen plant. Mexico is really gnashing teeth about allowing any foreign intervention in Pemex.



The Real Big Storm About to Hit the United States is Cantarell

[copious.abundance]

Looks like there's gonna be another test of this in another location.

--> LINK <--

Saskatchewan THAI demonstration test slated
Guntis Moritis
Production Editor

HOUSTON, Nov. 21 -- Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd. and True Energy Trust, both of Calgary, announced plans to demonstrate the effectiveness of toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) to recover conventional heavy oil from a +10-m thick Mannville channel reservoir in Kerrobert field, Saskatchewan. The initial test will involve two wells.

THAI is an in-situ combustion process, patented by Petrobank, that combines a horizontal producing well with a vertical air-injection well placed at the toe.

Since 2006, Petrobank in its Whitesands project has been testing the THAI process in the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta under a variety of operating conditions.

[xzorro]

Some progress on May River project .....
Calgary Herald, Saturday, November 29, 2008: Oilsands regulatory delay frustrates Petrobank boss

.........................CEO Wright said Petrobank had wanted to wait until it drilled the three wells before seeking approval for its planned 100,000-barrel-per-day May River commercial project, but it has moved that forward while waiting and now expects to file its application within days or weeks.

The project is to be centred within two kilometres of the demonstration site and built in phases, at a cost of about $150 million for each 10,000 to 15,000 bpd phase.

He said May River will reach 100,000 bpd by drilling 100 to 150 wells within three to four years. The resource is big enough to produce for 25 to 30 years.

Petrobank has drilled three wells at Whitesands to demonstrate its THAI technology. The new wells are intended to further demonstrate its CAPRI technology--which employs chemical catalysts to further improve the quality of the oil --as well as a revised down-hole completion design and longer well lengths.
____________________________________________________
Capex Comparison: Petrobank THAI with Oil Sands "SAGD" and Petrobras Offshore Tupi
As such I have taken the trouble to make a Capex comparison for the above Petrobank May River project with 2 planned SAGD "oil sands" projects and the planned/ delayed giant Petrobras Tupi offshore project.

The May River Capex is as indicated by CEO Wright "at a cost of about $150 million for each 10,000 to 15,000 bpd phase". So, total Capex is some 8X$150 M= $ 1.2 Billion plus central facilities. Say total $ 1.5 Billion for 100,000 BPD

The Capex for Petrobras Tupi can be taken from CEO Sergio Gabrielli http://seekingalpha.com/article/100675- ... -the-water:
For each 150,000 barrels per day of output and a production system comprising a floating platform, wells and subsea lines, the cost may be between $6 billion and $8 billion. We don't know whether we'll need 20, 40 or 50 such production systems.

Putting it together we get:

When using the data for SouthernPacific and Connacher SAGD it looks like that the Capex per BPD is about 35 % as required for SAGD, and only some 25 % as required for Petrobras offshore Tupi.
BTW SAGD is producing bitumen, Petrobank "THAI" is producing somewhat lighter oil than bitumen. Petrobras Tupi is producing light crude oil.

IF that is about correct, then the considerably lower Capex is a big advantage for Petrobank's "THAI".
JMHO[fade]Table for Capex Comparison

[copious.abundance]

We now have an analysis on the EROEI of THAI from The Oil Drum, and the verdict is . . .

http://netenergy.theoildrum.com/node/5183

EROEI between ~3:1 and 56:1.

[copious.abundance]

^
Some interesting posts in that thread:
one

[...]

Now that Canada has 1.7 trillion barrels of recoverable oil we're going to have to revise an Arab saying:

My grandfather rode a mule,
My father drove an F150 with a four inch lift,
I will fly in a jet,
And my son will have to swim everywhere because the sea levels rose.

(And, I'm a Lumberjack and I'm o.k.)

I don't know if this has been discussed elsewhere in this thread, but think about what this means if the Oil Sands have 1.7 trillion economically recoverable barrels? I know there will be two outcomes:

1. The Americans will start liking us again.
2. A second Tim Horton's will open up in Ft. Mac

another

[...]

But if EROI is really 10:1 or better for THAI then all climate scientists should be using much larger supplies of oil than have been discussed here. Because at 10:1 they are very likely to be exploited over the next 200 years.

Hubbert Linearizations may not account for these resources correctly. We may end up with a very fat tail.

[...]

And another

Being deeply concerned about CO2 emissions, I am rather sad to say that this looks economically promising. If the EROEI (excluding naptha) is greater than 10:1 that means the total CO2 emissions will not be significantly greater than those from, say, conventional heavy oil, and probably less than the same useful energy from a standard coal fired power station.

[...]

Even some of the doomers there are (relatively) impressed by this.

[Tanada]

IIRC the optimal design is a production well complex in the center surrounded by six injection well triple sets in a heaxgonal pattern, that way by interlacing the hexagons they can recover something like 85% of the accessible sands with one set of infrastructure. I even saw it claimed by someone that the air injection/heating complexes could be used for adjacent sets pusing air into two sets of well bores feeding THAI sets working away from each other. If that turns out to be true then the extraction well set would take in the fluid from 18 horizontal bores and each injection complex would feed six steam/air/O2 verticle wells.

Not sure how that changes the ultimate EROI but it would certainly reduce the environmental impact of both the injection and production well sites.

I already thought we were on the edge of no return with CO2 emissions, this will firmly push us over the tipping point if it is as economically attractive as it appears to be at the moment. Maybe I will get to see what the world looks like after the climate flips to hothouse after all.

[Blacksmith]

Don't ever think that Petrobank doesn't play hardball, before they will let you use the THAI process they want 60 percent of the project.

[copious.abundance]

Latest article here. Sounds like it's goin' well (pun intended) so far.

>>> Link, eh? <<<

[Blacksmith]

PetroChina takes C$1.9 billion stake in Canada oil sands

It's called diversification, now tax dirty oil, y'als.

[TheAntiDoomer]

Petrobank profit doubles to $57.1-million

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-in ... le1503386/

Petrobank is the creator of the Toe to Heel Air Injection, or THAI, method of drawing bitumen out of the ground using no water and minimal natural gas. The THAI process uses air to ignite a flame underground, which softens the gooey bitumen enough for it to flow to the surface.

An assessment by independent consulting firm McDaniel and Associates concluded last week that the THAI process works at Petrobank's Conklin heavy oil project in Alberta.

McDaniel's transition report says a best estimate of bitumen in place at Petrobank's Whitesands oil sands leases is 1.8 billion barrels if THAI is used. That's 17 per cent better than if the more common steam-assisted gravity drainage, or SAGD, technique were used.