Accelerated Advancement of a Dimethyl Ether (DME) Assisted In Situ Bitumen Recovery Process

Solution Developer

InnoTech Alberta

Project Description

There are 130 billion barrels of in-situ recoverable bitumen remaining in Alberta. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is the most common applied commercial process for recovering bitumen from below the surface. SAGD operates at above 200oC using an average of 2.5 barrels (bbls) of steam for each bbl of bitumen produced, making the process both energy and water intensive.
Dimethyl ether (DME) is a highly soluble mutual solvent that can mix with bitumen in the reservoir a couple of magnitudes faster than other solvents. The DME bitumen recovery process injects moisturized vapour DME into the reservoir at 80°C, making it much more energy efficient than SAGD.
Experimental studies conducted at InnoTech under the Alberta Research Council Core Industry (AACI) Research Program demonstrated that the DME bitumen recovery process could deliver the same performance as SAGD with an 86% reduction in direct GHG emissions while using 79% less water. This technology can be readily deployed in existing operations at a sustaining well pad or at a greenfield facility.
The CRIN DME bitumen recovery project aims to advance this technology by focusing on de-risking the process and developing the information required for oilsands operators to conduct technical, environmental and economic feasibility assessments of the DME bitumen recovery process.
This project will be performed by InnoTech at its Edmonton research facility, with technical support from industry partners leveraging their experience in field testing recovery processes.

Benefits/Outcomes

• The process has significant benefits compared with conventional in-situ extraction including the need for less water treatment and lower process temperatures.

Project Resources