The Kearl oil sands mining, pipeline and upgrading project is being carried out in four AMEC offices: Calgary, Houston, Vancouver and Oakville. The development is planned to include open-pit mining, ore processing and bitumen production that will be blended with synthetic crude and marketed as a synthetic crude/bitumen blend (Synbit). Expected production in Phase 1 is 100,000 barrels of bitumen a day, with later expansions up to 300,000 barrels of bitumen a day and offsite upgrading when market conditions warrant.

AMEC Paragon provided conceptual, preliminary, and detailed engineering and design/drafting services for a new-build heavy oil platform (20º API) designed to produce 12,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). The project consisted of a central drilling and production platform with a six-pile deck. The platform was designed for simultaneous drilling by two jack-ups in harsh conditions (cold weather, ice, seismic activity, and sea floor movement). Due to the small number of marine assets in North China, the deck was designed for a minimum-cost float-over installation.

AMEC Paragon provided engineering and design/drafting for a centralized facility designed to treat a 12o API oil without the need for a diluent.  The two separate trains for oil treating and metering were configured to handle areas with different working-interest ownership arrangements.

To replace a heavy oil facility destroyed during military action, AMEC Paragon provided engineering and design/drafting work for an early production facility that includes a two-stage separation train, followed by two parallel two-stage desalting trains for processing 50,000 BPD of heavy, sour crude oil.

AMEC Paragon provided preliminary engineering and design, including development of specifications, an operating basis, and an invitation to tender package for an onshore and offshore heavy oil project (10o API) that includes the following:

• Onshore and offshore pipeline segments
• A pump station
• A coastal terminal with loading facilities