An expansion phase at Kearl will add another 110,000 barrels per day by late 2015 and future debottlenecking will increase output to reach the regulatory capacity of 345,000 barrels per day by about 2020.

Keral’s energy needs have been reduced by using a proprietary paraffinic froth treatment technology to remove fine clay particles and water from bitumen in order to produce a product suitable for pipeline transport to market. Kearl will be the first oil sands mining operation that does not require an upgrader to make a saleable crude oil.

The operation will also employ cogeneration to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Cogeneration is a method of capturing waste heat to produce steam and electricity at the same time. Imperial estimates that Kearl’s cogeneration facility will reduce total emissions (direct and indirect) by up to half a million tonnes per year compared with purchased power required for the initial development.

Imperial cites a 2010 report from IHS CERA that found that petroleum products derived from Kearl crude—i.e. an operation that processes diluted bitumen through paraffinic froth treatment and uses cogeneration—will have “about the same” life-cycle GHGs as the average of crudes consumed in the United States.

Other environmental innovations include on-site water storage to eliminate river withdrawals in low-flow periods; progressive land reclamation; earlier tailings reclamation than other oilsands operations; and an advanced waterfowl deterrent system.

The Kearl project, located about 75 kilometers northeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta, is expected to recover approximately 4.6 billion barrels of bitumen over an estimated project life of more than 40 years.