Water Management

How We Use Water  

We currently import around two cubic metres of water for each cubic metre of crude oil we produce. This is less than half the industry average. Furthermore, for every cubic metre of water we import, we recycle it and use it again 18 times.

Water imported from the Athabasca River is used primarily for three purposes:

 

• as process cooling water
• to generate steam from waste heat recovery (used for bitumen extraction)
• as drinking water

 

We currently circulate about 4,000 cubic metres of water through our plant every hour. Of that, 20% is imported from the river for cooling and to generate steam, and the remaining 80% is recycled water used to process oil sand. Of the total fresh water we import, we estimate 35% of it is evaporated into the atmosphere through the cooling towers. This in turn returns the water back into the hydrologic cycle.

Water Conservation

Throughout our operating history, we have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to water conservation. In fact, our water use has dropped by 60% since the 1980s. Over the last few years alone, we have reduced our water import by seven million cubic metres annually. We are now looking at further efforts that are anticipated to reduce our water intake by an additional five million cubic metres each year.

We recognize, due to production growth, our water use will rise. However, we remain committed to staying within the license granted to us in the 1970s. We have never and do not plan to ask regulators for an increase in our licensed water withdrawal.

Water Quality Monitoring

Syncrude has a zero discharge policy and does not release any process affected water to the Athabasca River. We ensure all surface waters are diverted around our operation, and all water within mining and processing areas are collected and recycled.

Syncrude is a founding member of the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program, a multi-party group of First Nations, environmental groups, regulators and oil sands developers. The mandate of the group is to assess and respond to potential effects of oil sands development on rivers and lakes in our region. This program is one of the largest in the world in terms of chemical, biological and geographic scope. For further information, please visit their website at www.ramp-alberta.org .