Suncor is partnering with a number of other companies in order to build a new technology development center close to Fort MacMurray, and the new center will be located at the Suncor Firebag site. All of the companies involved have committed to spending $165 million in order to develop and build this new structure and it will be used for research. In addition to Suncor 5 other companies have joined in on the venture. The project is a joint industry project being overseen by the Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance. One of the goals of the new water research center near Fort MacMurray is to test water treatment methods and technology, and to develop water recycling technologies and refine these.
According to the chief executive for COSIA, Dan Wickum, “This is a very large, very meaningful project that could only be done collaboratively, and it is the first bricks-and-mortar project that is done under the auspices of COSIA. The concept of having the (centre) right on site and being essentially integrated into an existing plant is novel. The technical folks are really excited about this.” The new center is expected to starting water testing at some point early in the 2017. Kelli Stevens, the spokesperson for Suncor, stated “Building the WTDC as a dedicated facility means that we can speed up how quickly we can develop and commercialize new ideas for SAGD. WTDC should overcome some of the barriers that often would be present when you don’t have dedicated test facilities.” Other project partners include Husky Oil Operations Ltd., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Shell Canada Energy, Nexen Energy ULC, and Devon Canada Corp.
