Imperial Kearl Oil Sands Phases 1 and 2

Client: Imperial

Location: Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Business Segment: Energy Solutions

Industry: Fuels

Services: Engineering and DesignProcurementConstruction

Map showing the location of Imperial Kearl Oil Sands Phases 1 and 2

Executive Summary

Fluor provided construction management services for both phases of Kearl Oil Sands:

Phase 1 - Kearl Initial Development
Phase 2 - Kearl Expansion Project and the associated Cogeneration Power Plant and Fine Tailings Treatment & Distribution Projects.

We also provided engineering, procurement and construction for infrastructure facilities, utility power distribution (72-kva transmission) and a wide range of site-wide services to onsite construction contractors.

The Kearl Initial Development surface mining and bitumen extraction operation was expected to achieve a total production of 110,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Kearl Expansion Project operation was expected to add a total production of 110,000 bpd.

Client's Challenge

Imperial (affiliated with ExxonMobil and parent company to the client) is one of Canada's largest corporations and one of the country's largest producers of crude oil and natural gas. It has a leading market share in petroleum products sold through about 1,900 service stations. Kearl Oil Sands would be one of Canada's largest open-pit mining operations. The Kearl Oil Sands are located 78 kilometers (48 miles) northeast of Fort McMurray.

The client, Imperial, contracted with multiple engineering, procurement, construction and construction management contractors to execute Kearl Oil Sands.

Fluor's Solution

Our contributions to Kearl Oil Sands were to assist Imperial with the overall construction management for the entire project and provide the infrastructure and offlease facilities, including the control building and laboratory, non-process building facilities, pipelines, river water intake facilities, hydrotransport and tailings construction, a 240-kV power line interconnection to the local utility grid, main substation and 72-kV power distribution within the facilities.

Other key engineering, procurement, construction and construction management deliverables included:

Construction management and direct hire construction for support services
Engineering and design of deliverables needed for construction and operation
Support for procurement of equipment/materials, fabrication yard and site construction, systems completion and start-up
Procurement of materials and subcontracts
A wide range of site-wide services that included safety and health training

Conclusion

Bitumen in its sands made Canada the largest exporter of crude oil to the United States.* Imperial had a mine plan for the project life of over 40 years, and production capacity was an approved 345,000 bpd. Fluor had been providing services on Kearl Oil Sands since 2008.

During Phase 1 and Phase 2, we provided construction management support to Imperial for the entire project and engineering, procurement and construction for the infrastructure and offlease facilities.

* U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 2010 Import Highlights.