Merchant upgrader gets corporate go-ahead

Gary Park

BA Energy has board approval to proceed with Alberta’s first merchant upgrader to process bitumen from the oil sands.

The first phase is now projected to cost C$900 million, 12 percent above original forecasts, and should be on stream within about two years.

BA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Columba Yeung said the start-up date will coincide with a pressing need for high-value, upgraded crude oil from the oil sands.

“With follow-on expansions already planned (from 75,000 barrels per day in the first phase to 250,000 bpd) we will have a significant impact on the upgrading capacity required to meet North America’s oil demands,” he said.

BA President Ray Cej said budget revisions stemmed from cost pressures in the oil sands sector.

Construction of the Heartland Upgrader near Edmonton is scheduled to start in March and require 1,200 workers during peak construction.

It will use proprietary upgrading technologies developed by BA’s parent, Value Creation.