PROJECT PROFILE

PROJECT
P R O FIL E
SHELL CANADA LIMITED
is mixed with a thinner and pumped 470
kilometres, through the Corridor Pipeline, to
the upgrader at Scotford, near Edmonton.
TIM DRISCOLL
HEAD ELECTRICAL
ENGINEER,
SHELL CANADA
The fuel Canadians count on to keep the
country moving makes many miles in its
journey from the oil sands to the gas pumps.
“It all starts at the Muskeg River Mine north
of Fort McMurray, Alberta,” says Tim Driscoll,
Head Electrical Engineer, Shell Canada.
“Trucks and shovels mine the oil and sand
mixture from just below the surface. Some
of the biggest trucks in the world – the 400
tonne size – haul the oil sand to the crushing
stations where it is conveyed to huge rotating
bins, broken into small chunks, then using
heat, water and a solvent, these chunks are
further processed into bitumen, a very heavy
oil. Daily, over 150,000 barrels of clean
bitumen, are produced. Then, the bitumen
At Scotford, a hydro cracking process breaks
down the heavy oil molecules to form a
synthetic crude, which is then refined into
gasoline and other finished products. The
hydro cracking process produces more barrels
of crude out than the bitumen input, and
does not produce the waste product of coke.”
The completed project is expected to produce
about 10% of Canada’s crude oil needs.
Electricity is a critical component in the
extraction plant, upgrader and refinery
modification projects at the Scotford site.
“We’ve used Alcan NUAL conductor in all of
these oil sands projects,” says Driscoll.
“NUAL aluminum alloy is an acceptable
and sometimes the preferred choice for
wire and cable products in various electrical
applications. NUAL is Alcan’s trade name for
their 8000 series aluminum alloy conductor
material.
8000 series aluminum alloy conductor is
built into our corporate standards and we
push to use it on projects where it provides
an economic advantage. Our base standards
include 8000 series alloy as being acceptable
for motor and other feeders down to a certain
size and we use it at different voltages.”
“We reviewed the Alcan testing results,”
explains Driscoll. “We ran trials with
aluminum alloy for feeders in some of our
gas plants, gradually building up corporate
knowledge of the product and our confidence
that there weren’t any problems. We found
how easy it was to pull and install, where we
realized additional cost savings. 8000 series
aluminum was gradually embedded into our
base standards.”
Driscoll adds, “Even though 8000 series
aluminum is less expensive, we look at more
than just the purchase cost. Several other factors
need to be considered such as termination
type and preparation, and tray considerations
like cable weight and size. Overall, it is a good
economic choice considering the combination
of cost savings and ease of installation.”
Oil Sands Project, Muskeg River Plant
grounded in service
wired to innovate.
TM
2700 Matheson Blvd. E., East Tower, Suite 602, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5H7
Telephone: (905) 206-6900 • Fax: (905) 206-6907
829 06/05